


Survival Game

by vi_britannia



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Established Relationship, I apologise in advance for everyone's deaths, I promise it ends happy though, I think I should definitely mention I'm still bad at tags, I think I'm getting a lot better at fight scenes! (Yay), Jealous!Suzaku, Like LOTS of angst, Love Triangle (ish?), M/M, SuzaLulu - Freeform, TW - Drug Use, TW - Theft, TW - depression, TW - suicidal thoughts, Though not gonna lie a lot of people die, alternating povs, send help, tw - murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 30,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23134570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vi_britannia/pseuds/vi_britannia
Summary: Humanity is at stake.An experiment gone wrong marks the beginning of the apocalypse, leaving cities to ruins and the threat of the walking undead in the streets.When the few survivors in the aftermath of the apocalypse dig deeper into the origins of the virus, there is seemingly more to it than everyone had initially thought, and they quickly discover that there are certain truths never meant to be uncovered.
Relationships: Kururugi Suzaku & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Kururugi Suzaku/Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Minor C.C. & Kallen (if you squint), Minor Lelouch & Gino
Comments: 40
Kudos: 38





	1. PROLOGUE - DAY ZERO

**Author's Note:**

> So I was writing this fic in the hopes of getting into the 30k word count and… I did it! I’m trying to write longer fics so I’m super proud of this fic! I hope you all enjoy and please leave a kudos/comment if you do :)

It started with a scream, barely even decipherable as one. 

The brief noise ended as soon as it began and didn’t catch much of anyone’s attention. 

Except _one_. 

Lelouch glanced up from the equation he was jotting down, sparing a look out of the window and finding a large crowd gathering in the courtyard of Ashford Academy. 

He squinted to assess the situation better, noticing a couple of panic-stricken civilians attempting to climb the gates. They appeared to be speaking, _shouting_ , more likely, but Lelouch couldn’t tell what they were saying. 

Confused guards tended to the deranged visitors, seemingly urging them to get down, but failing miserably. 

A couple more people approached the gates, appearing severely injured, with bright red blood seeping through their clothes, completing drenching the new arrivals. 

Concerned, the guards pried the gates open to let them in, asking the others to call for help. 

The action left the climbers looking far more terrified, as if they were seeing a ghost. They were evidently screaming now, shaking their heads violently and motioning to shut the gates. 

A guard tending to one of the injured civilians stood abruptly, scrambling back to the gathering crowd. The injured woman’s behaviour changed erratically, attacking the nearby students and spilling blood over the yellow flowers. 

It didn’t take long before the attacked student mirrored the behaviour and lunged towards her concerned friends, where the chain continued. 

After that, chaos followed. 

The crowd dispersed quickly, running towards the school. More civilians from outside the academy broke through the open gates, coming in like a flash flood. 

Violet eyes widened, processing the bizarre sight unfolding in front of him. 

_Nunnally,_ he immediately thought, screeching his chair back, and making his way to the door. He flicked a text to his childhood friend now boyfriend, Suzaku Kururugi, instructing him to meet him outside the classroom. 

The entire class, clearly blind to the scene outside, stared at him with baffled expressions. His teacher’s face, now morphing to one of anger at his student’s odd behaviour, quickly dissipated to confusion when Lelouch pointed at the window. “Get to safety!” was all he said, before he walked out of the room promptly. 

“What’s wrong?” Suzaku’s jog broke into a run as he approached the other male. His classroom would have been a few flights down the stairs, yet he didn’t look like he even broke a sweat. 

“Something’s not right,” Lelouch let out a deep breath. “We need to get to Nunnally.” 

The brunet didn’t ask any questions, already knowing enough from Lelouch’s expressive fearful gaze. He nodded, embarking on their trek to the Student Government Clubhouse. 

The screams grew louder when they reached the front doors of the high school building. They witnessed their classmates acting rabidly, wild eyes watching with a hungry stare, and blood staining their uniforms. Their skin was visibly pale, with the whites of their eyes yellowing, and shining glossily. 

This sight prompted the two males to run faster, sighing in relief when they spotted the building. 

The wave of relief quickly turned to one of fear when Lelouch realised the doors were wide open, and the distinct sound of someone trying to break into one of the doors upstairs filled the air with dread. 

Lelouch grabbed the rusty shovel leaning against the garden shed, carefully making his way up the grand stairs. He gestured for Suzaku to shut the doors behind them, in case more of _them_ arrived. 

They kept as quiet as possible, approaching the source of the noise. 

Sayoko Shinozaki, their guardian for the past few years, laid bleeding beside the door, her hand trying to control the blood flow in her right arm. Her eyes were shut, with her face twisting in agony. 

“Sayoko!“ Lelouch ran towards the former maid, kneeling on the floor beside her and handing the shovel to Suzaku. He searched his surroundings, grabbing a nearby shirt and ripping the fabric to tie around Sayoko’s arm tightly, with blood immediately soaking the makeshift bandage. 

A groan emitted from one of the hallways, and the two males looked at each other, not too sure what to expect. 

Lelouch stood, taking the shovel from Suzaku and gripping the metallic object until his knuckles turned white. The brunet followed after him, careful of their surroundings. 

The sound was louder in one of the rooms, and they nodded at each other before entering the vacant room and finding an Ashford student facing the corner of the wall. 

Lelouch dropped the shovel, its aftermath the miserable clanging of its impact with the floor. 

The student, who had now clearly been infected by the odd virus, sported glassy yellowish eyes, her once green irises no longer as bright as they used to be. Her orange hair was left in a mess of tangles, normally kept neat and tidy. The Ashford uniform she wore was tattered and stained, the complete opposite of its usually immaculate condition. 

“Shirley,” Lelouch’s voice was almost just a whisper. 

From behind him, Suzaku picked up the weapon and readied himself to attack. 

“No wait-“ the raven pleaded. 

Suzaku glanced at his boyfriend worriedly. “Lelouch, you’ve seen the others-“ 

“I know.” He shut his eyes, glancing back at the girl who used to be so bubbly, who always brought joy to the student council and lifted everyone’s spirits with her smile, “Shirley, if you’re in there-“ 

Shirley lunged for them, teeth bared and hands in a claw like position. She showed no sign of comprehension for his words, and Lelouch could only look back hopelessly. 

He braced himself for the attack that never came. 

When Lelouch opened his eyes, Shirley was on the floor, eyes fluttering close and movements sparse. 

From behind them, Sayoko emerged from the hallway. She ran towards Suzaku, who was closest, attaching herself to him. 

“Don’t get bitten!” Lelouch yelled. “I think it’s how the virus is spreading.” 

“Yeah, no shit!” Suzaku was trying to push her face away, and he was able to just buy enough time for Lelouch to locate a thick book in the room and shoved her away with as much force as he could muster. 

It sent her back a few paces, and they took that opportunity to run back out to the hallway, slamming the door behind them. 

“Nunnally!” Lelouch shouted. 

“Big brother!” They heard from the room at the other end of the hall. 

They rushed to her as soon as they can, finding her safe and uninfected in her room. Thankfully, Sayoko had enough time to take her in, barricade the doors, and tried to fend off Shirley herself. 

“Big brother,” Nunnally sobbed. “Sayoko… is she alright?” 

“I’m sorry Nunnally,” Lelouch said softly. 

“She died to protect me. That’s not fair!” She cried out, gripping the arm rests of her wheelchair. 

Such was Nunnally’s sad reality, blind and crippled due to an early childhood trauma, she was confined to her wheelchair for an indefinite period of time, unable to defend herself. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” Lelouch hugged his little sister tightly. 

Suzaku cleared his throat, “I’m going to check the other rooms and make sure there’s no other infected students in here with us.” He grabbed the shovel and raced out of the room. 

Lelouch heard the faint opening and closing of doors, as he continued to reassure Nunnally that everything was going to be alright. 

It was a lie he desperately wanted to believe in, but it seemed that the impossible was possible after all, and this day marked the sickening beginning to the world’s slow descent to its ultimate end. 


	2. RULE #1: LOCATE A FOOD & WATER SOURCE

It has been a year since the outbreak. 

After eventually discovering the depressing realisation that there was no help coming, they knew they had to act fast. 

It seemed most of the Ashford students had been infected, inevitably turning into the decomposing rotting flesh that now roamed the school grounds. 

Indeed, the dead were now walking, and it appears the world had succumbed to a zombie apocalypse. 

With their obvious limited knowledge on the nature of zombies, seeing as the terrifying beings had never existed before outside of popular culture, Lelouch suggested to undertake a couple of experiments to identify their strengths and weaknesses. 

The zombies didn’t have many strengths. As the year passed, the bodies of the infected underwent the process of decomposition. The rate was a lot of quicker than usual, and Lelouch assumed it must have been due to the virus speeding it up somehow. 

Newly turned zombies were faster, but as their bodies decomposed, so did their initial speed, much to Lelouch’s relief. 

They appeared mindless, with no coherent cognitive processes. They found zombies repeatedly hitting walls and other large objects, only being strongly drawn by noise and the metallic scent of blood. 

It seemed that the undead had difficulty with sight, so it was possible to weave through them easily, as long as their attention isn’t caught. That in itself was another story – they tended to travel in hoards, and there was strength in their numbers. 

Lelouch’s first protocol after finding Nunnally and securing the Student Government Clubhouse was to board up the windows. They waited for survivors, searched the school for them after the outbreak died down, but they found none. 

They were the only ones left. 

Their source of food and water was Ashford’s kitchen, which stocked plenty of long-life goods. They would often go on food missions, carefully venturing past the hordes of the undead, and return with a couple of weeks’ worth of food. When they ran out, they would simply go again. 

Suzaku had urged Lelouch to exercise, to build up his ability to run faster and longer, and despite the raven’s unending complaints on the matter, he followed Suzaku’s instructions anyway, and has gotten a lot better since, albeit definitely not as fast as Suzaku, but a significant improvement to say the least. 

“Are you ready?” Lelouch peered through the doorway. 

“Yeah,” he nodded, securing the backpack tightly. He drew the katana out of its sheath, checking the blade before returning it promptly and fitting it around his waist. 

Since his uncle, Tohdoh, introduced the art of Kendo to him at a young age, Suzaku continued to practice it, and his abilities came in handy when the apocalypse had started, and they had no other viable weapons to use. 

As Lelouch’s strength was _not_ close combat, he taught the raven how to use a compound bow and arrow that they had found in the archery club room a few months back. Though not the best weapon because of the time it took to draw and attack, it was useful for long range kills, and more importantly, it was quiet, therefore never attracting the zombies. It helped most when they were on food missions and only a couple of the undead were in the way. 

The quiver was slung across his shoulder, with an abundance of arrows. He held the compound bow close, ready to move. 

“Let’s go,” Suzaku removed the barricades on the front door, opening it as quiet as possible. There weren’t many zombies in the area anymore, but their vigilance remained, and for good reason - it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Not in a world where a single mistake can get you killed. 

They moved slowly, at a practiced pace, down the footpath that best led to the cafeteria. 

“Lelouch.” 

“Got it,” the raven notched the arrow on the rest, pulling it back until there was a faint click. Violet eyes trained forward, and he exhaled slowly as he released the arrow, launching it directly into the nearby zombie’s head. 

“Nice!” Suzaku cheered. 

“It appears I have a good teacher,” Lelouch winked. 

The brunet chuckled, “I give that shot… eight points.” 

“Eight points!” Lelouch raised an eyebrow. “I would say that was worth at _least_ nine.” 

“Mmm,” Suzaku shook his head as they walked towards the targeted zombie. “Just a little bit off, see?” 

“Is there anything I could do to change your mind?” Lelouch’s lips quirked up in a smile, leaning close to the Japanese male, until he was only a breath away. 

“Nope,” Suzaku walked ahead, “Also, that’s cheating. You can’t seduce me into giving you more points.” 

Lelouch shrugged, with a flash of mischief in his eyes. “Not going to stop me from trying.” 

“You can’t get me this time, Lamperouge.” 

“It looks pretty clear,” Lelouch pointed at the kitchen door ahead of them. 

“Looks like today is a good run!” 

They unlocked the door carefully, and Suzaku headed in first to gauge the room and make sure there were no unwanted visitors. “Clear,” he called out. 

Suzaku wandered to the canned goods section, stocking up on canned Yakitori, which had become Nunnally’s favourite since Suzaku had offered the dish for her to try. He also picked up rice and a couple of cans of fish and other meat, while Lelouch gathered energy bars, bottled water, and first aid supplies. 

“Done?” Lelouch called out from the other side of the room. 

“Yeah. We shouldn’t leave Nunnally for too long.” 

The trip back was uneventful, and the males made it back safely. Nunnally had greeted the two since their return, smile as bright as ever. 

After dinner, the younger Lamperouge sibling had retired back to her room and Lelouch helped her to bed. As he always did every night, he went into the broadcasting room, where he left the radio on and listened to messages from survivors. 

“We should try,” Suzaku piped in, leaning against the doorway. 

“Try what?” The raven turned the computer chair around to face him. 

“That safe haven they’re all talking about in the radio. We should try to go there.” He walked further into the room, taking the seat next to Lelouch. 

“Absolutely not,” he shook his head violently. “It’s too risky. We haven’t scoped out the nearby areas.” 

“But at least we know we’ll be safe,” Suzaku urged. “I’ve been adding more places to my rounds each day. There’s not a lot of zombies around anymore, so we should be able to pass through them with no problem.” 

“You promised you wouldn’t do that,” Lelouch’s scowl was venomous. 

Suzaku sighed. “I just want to make sure we have a good escape plan if ever this place become overrun.” 

It was nearly impossible getting Lelouch to agree to letting Suzaku do rounds on his own in the first place, but the raven had thankfully agreed (eventually), though judging from where this argument was going, he might not even be able to do them any longer. 

  
“I had _one condition_ -“ 

“I know, and I’m not sorry.” Suzaku shrugged. “I only want what’s best for you and Nunnally.” 

“Suzaku! What if you went on one of these rounds of yours and never came back?” Lelouch stood, pacing in the room, “We would never know what happened to you. We could very well one day just find you on the street as a rotting corpse! _It’s not safe!_ What were you thinking?! _”_ He stopped in the middle of the room, frustrated, both hands tangled in his hair. 

“We can’t stay holed up in here forever,” Suzaku stood. “One day, we’ll run out of food, or the solar panels that’s keeping our electricity running will deteriorate, or the academy will be completely overrun. We _need_ to move!” 

“Not while it’s still _safe_ here. There’s no point risking our lives for something we aren’t sure is going to happen. The food in the cafeteria will last us another year or two, the solar panels are newly installed, and there hasn’t been any influx in zombies in the area. We’re _fine_.” 

“What about Nunnally’s medication?” Suzaku challenged. “You know we’re running out and the hospital that she gets treated at is on the way to the prison that the radio’s been calling a safe haven. They’ve eliminated all the zombies in the area and it’s heavily guarded. They have food. They have supplies. They have weapons. We’ll be safer there.” 

For the first time since seeing Shirley infected and turned into one of _them_ , Lelouch looked vulnerable. His gaze was full of terror - fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of the inevitable – whatever it was, sent the raven to his knees. 

Suzaku knelt beside him, “Lelouch?” 

“I just want us all to be safe,” his voice cracked. “I don’t know what I’d do if-“ 

“Don’t think about it,” Suzaku held him close, pressing his lips against the raven’s forehead. “We’ll survive this and do whatever it takes. I promise you.” 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Lelouch murmured. 

“Ah, but when have I ever broken a promise?” 

“Well, if that’s the case, promise me something, Suzaku,” Lelouch finally looked up, eyes wide and soft. 

“Anything.” 

“Live.” 


	3. RULE #2: DON'T TRUST ANYONE

“There are survivors out there!” 

Nunnally smiled excitedly. “We need to help them!” 

“Of course,” Suzaku nodded, automatically heading for the door, undoing the locks and removing the barriers.

The older Lamperouge sibling immediately stood up from his spot in the lounge, peeking out part of the window that wasn’t boarded up. 

“Wait-“ 

But it was too late. Suzaku had already opened the door, urging the strangers to come in. 

The raven had instinctively felt danger. Whether it was due to the abundance of guns slung behind their back and filling their duffel bags or whether they had simply not encountered other survivors since the outbreak quieted down, was debatable. 

A man with spiky orange hair stepped forward, flashing a wide smile. “Hey, thanks for that.” 

“It was no problem at all,” Suzaku grinned. “My name is Suzaku, this is Lelouch and Nunnally.” 

Lelouch simply nodded once, watching the newcomers carefully. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” the smile was still eerily plastered on his face, “Name’s Luciano, these girls here are Monica, Dorothea, and Nonette,” he gestured to them as he spoke their names. “We’ve been travelling on foot for days and haven’t found a place safe enough to sleep. I have to say, it’s been a nightmare.” 

Ha! There was no way in hell-

“Why not stay here?” Nunnally offered cheerfully. “We have plenty of food to go around and a lot of vacant rooms!” 

Not good. This was not good. 

“How kind of you! We owe you our deepest gratitude.”

It seemed the girls behind him didn’t speak much, and they kept their gazes trained to the ground.

Lelouch glanced at Suzaku worriedly, noticing the brunet had absolutely no stranger danger radars overflowing with big red warning signs. 

“So, how long have you guys been here?” 

“A year now,” Suzaku replied, “We used to go to school here, so we’ve been holed up here since the outbreak started and haven’t left since.” He sat on one of the seats in the lounge. 

“A school, huh?” Luciano looked around the common area. “Seems like a pretty fancy one at that. It’s solar powered and everything too. They must have stocked up on a lot of food.” 

Stop talking, Suzaku. 

“Yeah, there’s a decent stock of canned goods in the cafeteria kitchen.”

“Sounds like you’ve been living the life.” Luciano chuckled darkly. “I apologise if we are being rude, but I think it would be best if we could rest now. It’s been days since we’ve had a proper good night’s sleep.”

Suzaku blinked. “Oh, of course. Let me show you the extra rooms.” He guided the group up the stairs, and Lelouch listened to their footsteps and voices disappear. 

He wheeled Nunnally to her room, now in the ground floor due to accessibility issues (as the elevator they had used previously to get to her room upstairs used too much energy). In anticipation of the worst, he kept Nunnally in a set of clothes ready for escape. 

Lelouch returned to the common area after bidding his little sister good night, finding Suzaku lounging and reading manga. He tugged at Suzaku’s military green shirt and dragged him to the broadcasting room, whispering, “Something’s wrong.” 

He kept his eyes trained to the open door, as if expecting the unwanted visitors to burst through them any second.

“They seemed nice,” Suzaku shrugged. “Luciano was even giving me information on some heavily zombie populated areas and some tricks to make sure the undead stays dead.” 

“Remember the rules?” the raven looked at the other male expectantly. “We can’t trust anyone!” 

Suzaku placed both hands over the slender male’s shoulders, “It’ll be fine, Lelouch. You’re overthinking.” 

He wanted to laugh. Him? Overthinking? He shrugged off his arms, stepping back with a scowl, “No, Suzaku, I’m really not. It’s the goddamn apocalypse! Do you really think their intentions are that pure?” 

“I mean-“ 

“The answer is no, Suzaku! They have guns, loads of them. It’s one thing to trust people in a zombie apocalypse, and it’s another to trust people with a fuck ton of guns in a zombie apocalypse.” 

“It’s a zombie apocalypse!” Suzaku wailed his arms. “Of course, they’re going to have guns. It’d be more suspicious if they didn’t!” 

Lelouch shut the door, “Think about it, Suzaku. They have no other form of resource on them. They’re going to use their weapons to take it from others, AKA us.”

“Stop demonizing them! We’re all suffering the same fate. We’re all victims. It isn’t the time to start treating everyone else as villains. Everyone just needs to play their part in helping each other out.” 

As much as Lelouch wanted his words to be true, he knew better than to succumb to naivety. This was the end the world. 

Rules change. 

People change. 

It was their reality now, and it was one they have the misfortune to deal with. 

The raven let out a heavy sigh, running his hands through his hair frustratedly, “Look, I really don’t want to fight over this anymore. All I want is an escape plan if something goes wrong. That’s all I ask.” 

Lelouch just wanted the fighting to stop. Day in and day out, there always seemed to be something to argue over, and it took out a lot of energy and precious time. 

“Fine,” Suzaku finally gave in, “I’ll pack a bag tonight, so if they turn on us, we should be able to escape with enough resources to last us at least a week, as well as our weapons. Is that enough?”

“Yes,” Lelouch replied lowly. “That’s good enough.” 

It was typical of Suzaku to assume the best in people, which was ironically the opposite of how Lelouch viewed the world. The Britannian remained sceptical, never really trusting anyone unless he knew them well. He assumed the worst in others, and always prepared himself for their inevitable betrayal. 

“Hey,” Suzaku stepped closer, cupping his face gently. “I’m sorry.” His gaze was soft, genuinely apologetic. He kissed the raven’s lips, pulling the other male closer towards him, “You just seem really stressed out. I think I know how I can help,” he whispered in the shell of the raven’s ear.

“I would… really like that,” Lelouch murmured against his lips. 

Forgetting about the world even just for a little… was all they had left.

***

The next day, Lelouch was in a much, much better mood. 

Much to Suzaku’s relief, the raven had started interacting with the newcomers, and talking about their lives before this whole thing started. 

Lelouch realised the quiet girls must have just been tired the night before. Though this was not enough to shake the doubt in his head, it eased it a little. 

“Anything else we can help with?” Luciano offered, with Monica trailing close behind him and smiling.

Suzaku paused for a moment, “We’ll probably need to do a quick food run.”

He glanced back at Suzaku worriedly, talking animatedly with Luciano. Suzaku was right though, with the sudden influx of people in the Clubhouse, it wouldn’t hurt to have more food in the house.

They had packed a bag and planned an escape route should the need arises, and silently, they both wished it wouldn’t have to come to that measure. 

Despite desperately wanting to be by Suzaku’s side, he needed to make sure Nunnally was safe too. 

So, he stayed. 

As soon as the doors clicked shut, Lelouch felt cold metal brush against his head. He didn’t want to turn around and risk getting shot at, so he spoke, staring at the now closed door in front of them, “What do you want?” 

It was a stupid question, but they needed to buy time. 

“Luciano’s taken a liking to this place,” Dorothea spoke, shoes clicking and appearing in front of the male Britannian. “And now he wants it for himself.” 

Nonette kept the gun at his head, saying nothing. 

Lelouch raised both hands to show the girls he had nothing on him. “Look, just let us go. We won’t fight. We’ll just leave.” 

“I’m afraid we can’t have that,” Dorothea grimaced, taking out the pistol tucked at the back of her jeans. 

He sighed, “I wish we were more civilised about this, but I guess that’s just wishful thinking,” Lelouch then yelled, “NUNNALLY, NOW!”

The blaring sound of the fire alarm came on, leaving the two girls in a panicked state. 

Lelouch used the opportunity to run to the door and remove the barriers, already seeing hordes of zombies approaching. Dorothea and Monica had started shooting at him, but with the pressure of the situation, easily missing their targets. 

“I think you have other things to worry about now,” Lelouch smirked as he ran past them, into Nunnally’s room and wheeling her out through the back door. 

He heard the distinct sound of gunshots as the girls desperately tried to fend off the zombies that had already entered the house. 

“You did well, Nunnally,” 

“Why would they do such bad things, big brother?” Nunnally was visibly upset, an unusual frown now on her face. 

“It’s human nature to survive,” Lelouch explained as he searched the forest route that Suzaku had come up with. He let out a sigh of relief when he found the trail, going as fast as he can. They passed numerous zombies, though heading for the house because of the overwhelming noise. 

It seemed the girls had been so preoccupied they hadn’t bothered to turn the alarm off. 

But in this cruel game of survival, it was either them or Nunnally and Suzaku, and he can’t have that. There was no other option, even if it meant killing the living. 

They heard the rustling of leaves and violet eyes instinctively searched for danger. He raised his bow, ready for attack, and only stood down when he found familiar green eyes. 

“Suzaku!” Lelouch wheeled Nunnally towards him, hugging him tighter than he ever had before. 

“You were right, Lelouch,” Suzaku frowned, dropping the bag slinging over his back momentarily. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” He had also leaned down to hug Nunnally, before looking up at him with eyes so full of guilt.

“It’s over now,” the raven looked back at the house, now surrounded with the undead. “They brought this on to themselves. We tried a civilised method, and they simply chose violence.” 

“Yeah,” Suzaku grabbed the handles of Nunnally’s wheelchair, “Also, we need to go. It won’t be long before the zombies come back.” 

Lelouch nodded, clutching the quiver on his back tighter around him. 

After a year of safety, of a guaranteed food, water, and power source, they were now venturing the streets of the epicentre of the apocalypse.


	4. RULE #3: STOCK UP ON MEDICAL SUPPLIES

They have been travelling for about three days. 

Suzaku led them, always keeping himself a few paces forward to make sure the path was safe. It was hard not to notice Lelouch losing more of his energy as each day passed and all his hope along with it. 

Zombies filled the streets no matter where they went, and they were only increasing in numbers. 

Their supplies were running out quickly, and Suzaku was hoping the hospital would be the best chance they had at replenishing that. They didn’t have much luck with the houses they found along the way, with the cupboards already raided and nothing but dust for them to take. 

They stayed away from the streets at night, and either Lelouch or Suzaku would always stay up to keep watch. It was an understatement to admit that the past few days have been absolutely _exhausting_. 

Suzaku spotted a sign that marked only two kilometres left to the state hospital, and he let out a sigh of relief. 

_They were almost there_ . 

At the pace they were at, with Lelouch pushing Nunnally’s wheelchair and their steps cautious of the walking undead, he assumed they would get to the hospital in about two hours. 

“We’ll be there soon!” Suzaku told the others cheerfully, though covering his mouth when he realised Nunnally was sleeping. 

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. “That’s what you’ve been saying like every hour.” 

“Okay, _true_ , but I promise it really is now. We’ve got two hours left, max.” Suzaku closed the steps between them, kissing the raven softly. 

He felt the corner of Lelouch’s lips quirk up into a smile, and inside, Suzaku _rejoiced_. It has been a while since he’s seen the Britannian’s genuine smile. 

“I promise I’ll get you and Nunnally to safety-“ 

“The only promise I need you to keep is to _live_ , Suzaku. Let me worry about the rest.” Lelouch held Suzaku’s hand, squeezing it tight. “Okay?” 

The brunet sighed. “Okay.” 

“Wait, are those… people?” Lelouch pulled away, eyes squinting at the approaching figures from a distance. 

Suzaku turned around, immediately spotting the group. They were moving faster than zombies and with more direction. 

“What do you want to do?” 

The Britannian paused for a moment. “We need to have our weapons ready for attack, just in case. Hopefully they’ll just pass by without trouble. At this rate, they’ll catch up with us soon anyway.” 

“Yeah,” he checked the group, noticing they were moving towards them at a quicker pace. “Hang on, one of them is coming here.” 

A blond Britannian was approaching them, his run slowing down to a walk when he was close enough. Lelouch drew his arrow and kept his eyes trained on him, ready to fire. 

“Hey,” the stranger called out, raising his hands as if surrendering. “I don’t have any weapons on me.” He turned around, showing he had no concealed weapons either. “I just want to talk.” 

Lelouch lowered his bow, but Suzaku kept his grip on the katana’s hilt. 

His blue eyes shone as he flashed a smile. “I’m Gino.” 

It seemed this _Gino_ guy was giving Lelouch his undivided attention, not once throwing a glance his way. Suzaku most definitely _did not_ miss the newcomer’s onceover of the raven, making him want to punch his row of perfect teeth out. 

Suzaku did not like this new guy. _No, not one bit._

He cleared his throat. “My name is Suzaku. This is _my boyfriend,_ Lelouch, and his sister, Nunnally.” 

“Ah,” Gino nodded, “Pleasure to meet you all.” 

Violet eyes narrowed. “What do you want?” 

“I’m here to represent my group, you see,” the taller male gestured at the others who stayed behind, “There’s strength in numbers. I was just wondering if you would like to join us.” 

“ _Join you_?” Lelouch shook his head, he moved closer to Gino (much to Suzaku’s discomfort), speaking lowly, “I would hate to impose. As you can see…” he gestured at Nunnally’s wheelchair. “We’d just slow you down. We’re not exactly the best addition to your group.” 

“Nonsense!” Gino waved it off. “If you’re one of us, we’ll protect you. You will find that we have a few girls in our group that’s the same age as your sister. I’m sure it’s been a while since she’s had the opportunity to socialise with others in the same age range.” 

Lelouch softly gazed at his little sister, “Yeah, I’m sure she’d love that. For the past year, she’s only had us for company,” he chuckled. 

Suzaku felt a twinge of bitter jealousy. Lelouch hadn’t laughed in _days_ , and Suzaku had made it a personal mission to do so, but it seems this complete stranger had beaten him to it. 

“So, what do you say?” The stranger smiled, hopeful. 

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Suzaku grabbed Lelouch’s elbow, moving them aside before the raven could respond. “I don’t think we should do it.” 

“I don’t see why not,” Lelouch shrugged, watching Gino strike a conversation with Nunnally, who had since woken up. 

Suzaku’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re usually the one with trust issues. What’s going on?” 

Violet eyes were calculating, evident that the Britannian had been thinking about the possibility of this arrangement working out. “I doubt they would worry about pace if they have younger members on board. I think it would help a lot with Nunnally’s morale if she had the chance to make some friends. It would mean everything to her.” 

“Yeah, you’re right, but-“ 

“It’s going to be fine. I feel good about this.” Lelouch smiled. “Trust me.” 

Suzaku nodded once, turning back to Gino. “If we’re doing this, we do need to stop at the hospital to pick up medication for Nunnally.” They were not going to take no for an answer. 

“Of course,” Gino gave the group a thumbs up, and they had started moving towards them again. “We were going to the hospital to check for supplies anyway, so this works out well.” 

They met the other people in the group – Diethard Ried, Tamaki Shinichiro, Jiang Lihua (though she did insist on being called Tianzi), Kaguya Sumeragi, and Li Xingke (who seemed _very_ protective of Tianzi and Kaguya). Much to Suzaku’s relief, they all seemed pretty nice, minus Gino, of course. 

Nunnally easily made friends with Kaguya and Tianzi, immediately getting along. Lelouch smiled fondly at the sight, happy for his sister. 

The hours passed quick with more companions, and soon they found themselves in the front entrance of the state hospital of Pendragon. They gathered in a circle, discussing the mission. 

Xingke had given Gino a list of supplies to look out for – which were the standard first aid items, some medicine, and to check the place for food. Tamaki, Diethard, and Xingke were chosen to stay behind, to make sure the girls were kept safe and to keep a look out. 

Suzaku, Lelouch, and Gino armed themselves with weapons, with Lelouch taking a gun equipped with a silencer to replace the efficiency of his bow and arrow. Suzaku kept his katana on him, and Gino opted for a pistol that he placed carefully into its holster. 

“Ready?” Gino asked the two males, who had nodded. 

As quietly as they could muster, they pried open the main doors. Gino had taken on the role of leading the group into the hospital, and Suzaku chose to stay at the back, prepared for a rear attack. 

Lelouch was familiar with the hospital due to how often they had visited for Nunnally’s treatments, so he was able to dictate directions without having to go into too many rooms that could potentially house a horde of zombies. 

He guided the team down to the cafeteria, where they were able to secure a significant amount of food. They had guessed that the food supply was barely touched as many wouldn’t have risked going into the hospital, where it was very likely many zombies roamed. 

The presumptions were most definitely correct, as they did have to clear many of the rooms on the way to the cafeteria. During their tactical attacks, they spared their bullets by leaving Suzaku with the task of taking on the zombies when there weren’t too many of them at a time. 

To find the first aid supplies, Lelouch followed his hunch and decided to take them to the emergency department. The room had to be by far the most populated compared to the others in the hospital, and it took them time to clear it fully, as well as everyone’s joint effort. 

Safe to say – Lelouch was pretty much thrown into the deep end learning how to shoot a gun. His aim wasn’t particularly spectacular, and Gino had taken it upon himself to teach him how to use one most efficiently. 

The blond Britannian situated himself behind Lelouch, _too close_ , if you had to ask Suzaku. Gino guided the raven’s arms, helping him aim to spare ammunition, giving him instructions close to his ear. 

It pissed Suzaku off _a lot_ , and it took every ounce of his power to stop himself from tearing Gino away from _his_ boyfriend. 

_Eventually,_ Gino backed off. They had finally cleared the zombies in the room, and Suzaku found a cabinet with the supplies they needed. 

That left one last thing. 

_Nunnally’s medication_ . 

They wandered to the upper floors through the stairwell, inevitably, with Lelouch complaining about the physical activity. Of course, being the gentleman that he was, Gino offered to carry him the rest of the way, of which Suzaku desperately wanted to push him down the stairs and make it look like a tragic accident. 

When they made it to the floor they needed, Lelouch searched the hallways for the room they were after, finding it close to the next ward’s double doors. 

There was a zombie on the other end of the hall, bumping mindlessly into a medical cart, which had wheeled itself into a shelf with so much force that some items had fallen off, producing clanging noises. 

“There it is!” Lelouch pointed at one of the rooms, “On the day of the outbreak, we were meant to pick up Nunnally’s medication from here. There should be a box labelled with her name in there with all of the medication she needs.” 

“Okay, let’s go,” Gino started running forward, but not until they heard the unmistaken groans of the undead from the other side of the ward door, which was now shaking. 

“Wait,” Suzaku raised a hand, “It won’t be long until they break through. If there’s enough of them on the other side, they can eventually open the doors.” 

“Stay here,” the taller Britannian instructed. 

“Gino, you can’t be serious-“ 

He interrupted Lelouch, “Let me do this, alright? It’s the least I can do to earn your trust.” 

“This is ridiculous! You-“ 

But he had already gone. 

Gino sped down the hall, into the room Lelouch had pointed at earlier, just as the ward doors burst open, revealing a massive horde of the undead. 

In a feeble attempt to reduce the enemy’s numbers, Lelouch had raised his gun to take down a few of the zombies, while keeping watch of the door worriedly. 

Meanwhile, Suzaku swung his katana, swiping their heads clean off their bodies. They were taking out as much as they can, but they weren’t going to last long, as more of them were coming from the other end of the hallway. 

Gino emerged from the room with a box tucked under his arm. He raised his gun, taking down a few of the zombies in his way before running down the hallway where Suzaku and Lelouch waited. “Come on!” He urged, opening the emergency stairwell access door. 

Alive, and barely out of breath, they dashed down the stairs and out of the hospital, only locking the front doors just in time before the zombies locked in the building were released. 

“Are you crazy?!” Lelouch lectured Gino. “What did you have to gain by risking your life like that?” 

“I want to be your ally,” Gino said sternly, “And if that wasn’t enough to earn your trust, then I’d happily do it over and over again. I want to protect you.” 

_Step aside, Gino. I’m the one protecting Lelouch and Nunnally, and they don’t need anyone else._

“You’ve earned my trust, Gino. It’s impossible not to after a stunt like that. Just… please don’t risk your life like that again. Not for something that doesn’t concern you-“ 

“That’s where you’re wrong, Lelouch,” Gino chuckled. “I want to keep everyone safe, and if the situation calls for it, I will do whatever it takes so you can all survive.” 

“Don’t bother arguing,” Tamaki called out. “The kid’s persistent. It’s impossible to shake him out of his crazy hero complex.” 

Lelouch chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Suzaku. “Doesn’t that sound familiar?” 

“Hey!” Everyone’s attention focused on Xingke, “We need to move. The sun’s going to set in a few hours, and we need a place to rest for the night.” 

The group collectively agreed, and they continued moving forward. 


	5. RULE #4: NOWHERE IS SAFE

The idea of a safe haven seemed too good to be true, and in a way, maybe it really was. 

After much discussion with the group, it seemed that getting to the Britannian State Prison was also their goal, which worked out well in the end, as they had all agreed to work together until they got there. 

But something about this alleged safe haven bothered him. 

If he had been asked about it a few days ago, he would have had a different response. A few days ago would mean the radio station that kept urging people to come to the prison was active. These days, not so much. 

Lelouch searched the other stations, considering the possibility that they’ve switched the channel, but still, there was only static. 

He had informed the group of his findings. Hell, he had told the group about it after a full day of not hearing anything in the radio. However, the group seemed to think there might have just been technical issues with the broadcast. 

“They still haven’t responded,” he called out, and like always, he had only received a couple of quiet grunts that confirmed they had heard him. 

Lelouch sighed, gesturing at Suzaku to come closer. “It’s been four days.” 

“Do you really think something’s gone wrong?” Bright green eyes widened in concern. 

“It’s a possibility. For all we know, we’re also heading straight to a trap,” Lelouch admitted. “Or it could be completely fine and I’m blowing things out of proportion.” 

That was the trouble – there was no certainty when it was the end of the world, and the latter reason was why they were still there. If he had given up a chance for Nunnally to be completely safe, the guilt would haunt him for the rest of time. 

“They’re clinging on the hope, you know,” Suzaku said quietly, “They’re content with brushing it off as a technical grievance because they don’t want to consider anything else.” 

Suzaku was right, of course. The group they had aligned themselves with had a couple of younger members, and he was sure that like himself with Nunnally, they would do anything to protect them and keep them all safe. 

Being in a group meant safety too. Ultimately, it was a good decision. Both Lelouch and Suzaku were able to rest more as there’s more people to keep watch at night. They were able to watch each other’s backs when raiding houses that they come across, and the group had a decent arsenal of weapons. 

On top of all that, he had never seen Nunnally happier since the apocalypse began. 

“What do you want to do? You know I would follow you, whatever you decide.” 

“I suppose for now we’ll stay. It doesn’t hurt to scope out the place once we get near enough anyway.” 

“If that’s what you want.” 

The group stopped, and Xingke, who was leading the pack, turned to face everyone, “We should camp here for the night.” 

It was nearly sundown, and Lelouch was glad that this group also seemed to keep in mind that travelling at night isn’t entirely the best idea. 

They settled themselves in the house that they found, making sure to keep the area locked and secure. They temporarily boarded up the doors and windows after checking the house was clear. 

  
That night, Lelouch and Gino were in charge of keeping watch, which didn’t sit well with Suzaku. 

During dinner, Lelouch did all he can to ease the brunet, but he could only do much. Emerald green eyes watched the blond Britannian closely, scowling at the man every now and then. He even offered to stay up to keep watch too, but of course shot down, as they needed as much people with strength the next day. 

Now into the wee hours of the night, Lelouch and Gino sat cross legged in the living room, with only a dull lantern giving them light. The night had been uneventful, with barely any zombies roaming past. 

“You know, you haven’t told me your story,” Gino spoke, breaking the eerie silence of the night. 

“There’s not much to tell,” Lelouch leaned back, using his arms to support him. “We were at the school when the outbreak started. I rushed in to make sure Nunnally was safe. It was a good thing our guardian made it to her and managed to lock her into a room, though the same happy ending can’t be said for Sayoko. Unfortunately, we lost her that day, and to make matters worse – the zombie that had taken her life was one of my closest friends.” 

Blue eyes softened. “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure everyone here has lost someone. It’s inevitable,” he sighed. 

“I lost a good friend of mine, Anya,” the taller Britannian looked down, lips quivering in the dark room, “We were almost to safety, but she let go of my hand and sacrificed herself so that I could make it.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

Gino smiled sadly. “Shit happens.” 

It was unusual seeing the bubbly Britannian so down, as he was normally the one who helped everyone’s spirits back up. It was a side that Lelouch doubted many members in the group saw often. 

In the way he always did, Gino tried to switch the topic to a lighter note, “So how long have you known Suzaku for? The dude seems to like giving me death stares every now and then,” he chuckled. 

At that, Lelouch had to smile. “I’ve known him since we were kids. I suppose he can just be a little bit protective at times, but he’s a really good guy.” 

“Ah, that’s a shame,” Gino sighed. “I was kind of hoping he was a terrible person I could save you from so I can keep you all to myself.” 

Lelouch wasn’t oblivious to Gino’s (not entirely) subtle flirtations from the past few days, so he thought he should make it clear, especially if it meant giving Suzaku his much-needed peace of mind, “Sorry, Gino. It’s never going to happen. I love him, he loves me, and we’re all going to survive this together.” 

“Way to let a guy down slowly, Lelouch!” Gino dramatically placed a hand over his heart. “Jeez, you normally turn down people who like you like that?” 

When Lelouch didn’t respond and only turned a couple of shades lighter in pink, Gino raised an eyebrow, “Funny. You can’t expect me to believe that you didn’t have some fan club at your school, right?” 

“I didn’t!” 

“Well, I assure you that you most definitely had one,” Gino laughed. “You’re attractive and smart, you’re the school’s vice president, you’re the sweetest brother to Nunnally, like come on!” 

Lelouch chuckled, “No way. Now you’re just being ridiculous.” 

Gino winked. “There’s that laugh I was after. My mission has been accomplished.” 

There was silence after that, and for a moment their eyes were locked on to each other. Gino uncrossed his legs, moving closer to the raven. He caressed the Lelouch’s cheek gently, cupping his face, before leaning closer. 

“ _Gino_.” Lelouch had an eyebrow raised, his hands shooing him away. “I have a boyfriend who would most _definitely_ kill you if he heard about this.” 

If Gino would even be recognised after was absolutely debatable. 

“Good thing he won’t, right?” The blond Britannian looked at the other male expectantly, letting out a lazy smile. 

“Just… don’t do it again.” 

“Alright, alright,” Gino raised his hands in surrender. “I know how to take no for an answer.” 

Lelouch rolled his eyes. “Good.” 

“So… hobbies?” 


	6. RULE #5: TRAVEL LIGHT

“Suzaku, can I talk to you for a second?” 

The brunet volunteered to push Nunnally’s wheelchair that day, so it made it too easy to have a conversation while they followed the rest of the group. 

Lelouch was up ahead, discussing something with Tamaki and Diethard, likely calculating the supplies they had left and the days they had to go. 

“Of course, what’s up?” He deliberately slowed his pace, to make sure they were out of earshot. 

“I…” her lips quivered, and she was clenching her fists so tightly that little crescent moons had started to form in her palm. “I’m a burden to this group.” 

“No, don’t say that, Nunnally. Of course you aren’t,” Suzaku immediately replied, wanting to stop moving but couldn’t in fear they would get left too far behind. 

“But I am!” Tears started forming in her eyes, falling down her cheeks. “Sayoko died to protect me, we lost the Clubhouse because of me, and Gino nearly died to take my medication. Every single day, you all take turns pushing my wheelchair and helping me do everything because I can’t do it myself. I can’t go on like this.” 

“Please, Nunnally, you can’t be thinking-“ 

“You should just leave me behind. I contribute nothing to this group, and I am nothing but a liability!” 

“ _No,_ absolutely not,” Suzaku frowned. “You always lift everyone’s spirits up, and that in itself is a power only you possess. It’s just as important as everyone’s role.” 

“I just don’t want to cause anyone else’s deaths!” Nunnally cried out. “What if big brother is next? Or you? Or Kaguya and Tianzi? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” 

“That’s never going to happen-“ 

Nunnally’s tears fell in a steady stream, “Please, Suzaku.” 

“I can’t let you do that, Nunnally, I’m sorry.” He quickened their pace back to normal, and they soon caught up with the group again. 

“Suzaku,” Nunnally called out, only above a whisper. 

“Yeah?” 

“Please don’t tell my brother about this. Promise me you wouldn’t, Suzaku!” 

“I-“ Suzaku looked down, staring at the pavement below them. “I promise.” 

*** 

The guilt ate through him. 

Plus, it didn’t help that Lelouch had been busy for the rest of the day, so since ‘the talk’, he hasn’t had the chance to exchange words with the raven. 

Nunnally’s confession laid heavy in Suzaku’s chest, wanting, _needing_ , to tell Lelouch about what happened. But the way Nunnally’s voice broke as she pleaded for Suzaku to keep his promise not to tell Lelouch… was nearly enough to break his own heart. 

He hadn’t spoken to Lelouch all day, and once they were settled in their camp for the night, the Britannian had approached him and said four words that could mean pretty much anything. 

“We need to talk.” 

Good things never came out of conversations that started with that line, and hearing it come from the Britannian’s lips was enough to send him into a frenzied panic. 

“Everything alright?” Suzaku asked worriedly. 

Lelouch’s expression was passive, not giving anything away. He gestured at the door with a flick of his head, silently telling Suzaku that he wanted to take the discussion outside. 

“Tell me, Suzaku,” Lelouch narrowed his eyes, his gaze absolutely venomous, “When were you going to tell me Nunnally has been thinking of suicide?” 

He could swear his heart just stopped beating, and the world around him slowed. 

_How had Lelouch found out about their conversation?_

“Lelouch-“ Suzaku moved forward to grasp Lelouch’s hand, but the raven pulled away violently. 

“Were you even planning on telling me? Or did you want to wait until I found her dead?” The rage was obvious in his eyes, burning bright with fury. 

Suzaku was frozen, knowing that he was bound to say the wrong things and make everything worse. He was treading in dangerous waters, and when it came to Nunnally, Lelouch was in his most protective state. 

“I was…” the brunet hesitated for a second, but it was enough for Lelouch to detect. 

“Don’t you _dare_ lie to me,” he gritted through his teeth. “Did you think this was something you can keep from me?” 

“Lelouch, stop. You don’t know the whole story-“ 

The Britannian chuckled darkly. “ _I don’t know the whole story_? Then how about you care to _enlighten_ me?” 

“Nunnally called herself a burden, not wanting to cause anyone else’s deaths-“ 

Lelouch immediately shook his head, “Nunnally _is not_ a burden-“ 

“Don’t you think _I know that?!_ ” Suzaku flailed his arms above his head. “I tried to help-“ 

“Help?” Lelouch glared at the brunet, pointing at him accusingly, “You agreed to _help_ her?” 

“Stop taking this out of context!” Suzaku yelled. “I tried to calm her down, tell her it wasn’t the right decision, and that she wasn’t a burden. I don’t want to see her dead any more than you do! If you would just _listen to me_ , you would know that. But of course, this is what you always do, _assume you’re always right_ , and refuse to listen to what anyone else has to say. No wonder your own father and mother cast you away! You are overbearing and inconsiderate, thinking you’re _so much_ better than everyone. I can’t stand it! I don’t know how I’ve put up with you all these years, and _honestly?_ I regret it. I regret _you._ ” 

He was angry, _so_ angry. Angry at the world for its submission to the apocalypse, angry at Lelouch for not listening to him, angry at Nunnally for asking him to keep an impossible secret, and angry at himself, for not knowing what to do to make it all better. 

All he wanted was for things to go back to the way it was. Back to when everything was easy, _simple_. Back when Lelouch would teach him how to cook because somehow, he always burned everything he touched in the kitchen, back when he would spend hours folding paper cranes with Nunnally, back when they were surrounded with friends and laughter filled the air, back when his worst fear was failing a class at Ashford Academy. 

But instead, he had said words he didn’t mean, and when he saw Lelouch’s hurtful gaze morph into a cold stare, he knew he had lost him. The one person that meant the most to him in the world. The one person that understood him inside out, that helped him through his rough times. The one person that loved him for who he was, and not who he was trying to be. 

“If that’s what you think.” 

Suzaku’s gaze softened, with his heart beating so fast after he had realised what he’d done. “Wait, Lelouch, that wasn’t what I-“ 

“It doesn’t matter now. Nunnally and I are leaving tomorrow. I don’t see any point wasting time to go to a place that is a lie.” 

“Lelouch, _please-_ “ 

“After tonight, Suzaku, I pray our paths will never cross again.” 

With every step Lelouch took away from him, Suzaku felt every fragment of himself shatter into a million pieces, a haunting memory of words that shouldn’t have been spoken, and secrets that should have stayed hidden. 

Lelouch was the one light in his world, but it seemed it had finally burnt out, and Suzaku had nothing left but the darkness that consumed him. 


	7. RULE #6: FIND A SAFER PLACE (REFER TO RULE #4)

“Lelouch, wait!” 

The raven stopped pushing Nunnally’s wheelchair for a brief moment, turning around to face the stubborn blond Britannian that wouldn’t let them go. 

“For the last time, Gino, I’ve made up my mind. We’re leaving.” 

“Let me come with you,” he said adamantly, clutching the backpack slung over his shoulder. 

Frankly, Lelouch has had enough of trusting people, and his response to his request was a slight narrow of his eyes and turning around abruptly, resuming their journey. 

“No.” 

“Lelouch, please,” Gino jogged forward to catch up with them, “We all talked about it, and we all agreed that it would be best if someone else comes with you guys.” 

No doubt the only person that volunteered was Gino, as the rest of the group would want to get to this _alleged_ safe haven, and Lelouch wasn’t going to let Suzaku closer than a twenty-foot pole. 

“We’ll be fine,” the raven sighed, training his eyes forward. 

“Nunnally will be safer,” Gino added, giving Lelouch an expectant look. “Besides, I’m pretty sure they’ve already left, so I can’t exactly go wander around alone now, can I?” 

Violet eyes regarded the other carefully. “ _You_? Don’t make me laugh. I’m sure you’ll make it with flying colours, Gino.” 

“Aw, now you’re just making me blush,” the taller Britannian chuckled lowly. “So, what’s the verdict, boss?” 

“Do whatever you want, I don’t care.” 

“Roger that,” Gino saluted dramatically, changing his pace so he matched with Lelouch. “Where are we going?” 

Lelouch avoided the cars that crashed on the highway, checking to make sure no zombies were hiding behind or under them. There has been one too many times that they had underestimated this and was meant with unpleasant surprises. 

“If we go to some sort of island, we should be self-sustainable and safe enough from the zombies. As far as I know, they can’t swim, and if that is the case, then I say we should take advantage of that as much as we can,” Lelouch explained, “We’ll try to gather as much supplies as we can – fishing gear, flint, possibly a tent…” 

“How do we… find an island?” Gino asked curiously, though slightly terrified his question was going to be viewed as stupid. 

Lelouch produced a map from his pocket, handing it over to Gino. “See the Pendragon military base? There’s a dock nearby. We should be able to take one of the boats from there easily, and we only need to sail for a while before we should reach one of those little islands,” he pointed at the small group of land that massed close to the coast. 

“It sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought, huh?” 

“I have,” Lelouch admitted, “After I stopped hearing the broadcasts, I started thinking of another way to survive and this is what I’ve come up with.” 

The plan has been weeks in the making, and Lelouch had made sure it was foolproof. 

“Well, I think it’s a great idea. I’ve always wanted to live on an island! I thought it would be pretty cool, climbing coconut trees, get an _amazing_ tan, harness my fishing skills, build _the hammock_ , ah! This is going to be great!” Gino fist pumped in the air, jumping while he was at it. 

Lelouch laughed softly, “You’re crazy.” 

“But in all seriousness, I’d be happy to stay anywhere if it means being with you,” Gino winked. 

The slender Britannian rolled his eyes, ignoring the other male’s comment and kept moving, the wheels on the wheelchair faintly squeaking as they rolled forward. 

*** 

They travelled for a couple more hours that day, finding sanctuary in a rundown motorhome campsite. Lelouch still hasn’t had the chance to talk to Nunnally about what happened, but he was sure she had a pretty good idea why they left the group. She hasn’t really spoken much since, which upset Lelouch, but he had decided to give her more time. The last thing she needed now was more pressure. 

It was going to be a long trip to the military base the next day and he needed more sleep, but for the past week or so he’s been having far more trouble with it and tonight wasn’t going to be any different. Not wanting to go to bed just yet, Lelouch stepped out of the vehicle to find Gino slumped against a log, poking at the fire he had started. 

“Don’t you think that will attract zombies?” 

“I checked the perimeter. This place is like a ghost town,” Gino looked up, surprised to find Lelouch leaning against the RV, “I thought we could use some heat for once. You know, just in case _I_ wasn’t hot enough-” 

Lelouch decided to sit next to him, rolling his eyes. Though in all fairness, it really was nice to have a fire going for a change. “Are you always this vain?” He raised an eyebrow, amusement twinkling in his eyes. 

“Only when I feel the need to show off…” Gino laughed. “Oh! I got you something.” He pulled out a bag from behind the log, unzipping the canvas and revealing its contents. “I thought being in a campsite, there would be plenty of these to go around, and I was right!” 

“What… are those for?” 

Gino gasped dramatically. “Have you _never_ had s’mores before?” 

“S’mores?” 

“And you call me insane!” Gino let out a hearty laugh, “You’re missing out big time, Lelouch,” the blond male laid out the ingredients on the ground, carefully placing a giant marshmallow he had toasted over the fire with chocolate in between two graham crackers, handing it over to him. “Here, try!” 

Lelouch eyed the creation sceptically, as if it was going to grow fangs and attack at any second. But seeing Gino’s excited smile made him sigh instead, taking a small bite. 

“So? What do you think?” 

He took a couple more bites, “This is good! A little bit on the sweet side, but it’s a good balance. We should make some for Nunnally next time.” 

Blue eyes softened as he shifted closer to the raven, “I’m glad you like it.” 

“Gino,” Lelouch mumbled lowly. 

“Yeah?” 

“I won’t be able to give you what you want.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Lelouch. I get that these things take time. I’ll wait for as long as I have to.” 

Suzaku’s words replayed in his head, droning on and on. He built a wall to protect himself from the lies and the treachery after a lifetime of betrayal. After all this time, he only ever let one person in… only for him to be proven wrong and revealed the ultimate truth. 

That maybe… he was never meant to be loved. 

The walls were up for a good reason, and they were never coming down again. Within the walls, he was safe. His secret was hidden from the world and he was free from the scrutinizing gaze of judgment. He can live the lie he had been so deeply accustomed to, and never have to explain himself to anyone. 

“There’s a lot that you don’t know about me.” 

“I don’t care, Lelouch. Nothing you say or do will scare me off. I promise.” 

He could think of one other person who said the exact same thing a couple of years ago, but before the memories can dwell, he shook them off, not wanting to remember. 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” 


	8. RULE #7: DO NOT GO AFTER MISSING PEOPLE

Suzaku blinked. 

“Where’s Gino?” 

The rest of the group stared at with baffled expressions, with Tamaki heading over to him with a look of concern, “Suzaku, he disappeared around the same time Lelouch and Nunnally left. We kind of assumed he just went with them.” 

_Right,_ Suzaku thought to himself. He did vaguely remember that happening a couple of days ago. Pleased with the lack of the blond one’s presence, Suzaku found himself able to mope in peace, and he should have suspected something sooner. 

But since Lelouch left, the brunet has been in some sort of a robotic state, somehow able to function as normal, but shutting off his emotions. 

“Oh,” was his intelligent response. 

“Buddy, are you okay?” Tamaki patted his shoulder when he noticed Suzaku tensing. “It’s fine, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but just know if you do, then I’m your guy!” 

He left Suzaku alone, traversing at the rear end of the group as usual, walking up to where Xingke stopped and surveyed their surroundings. 

The past few days have been nothing but a blur. He remembered taking down a couple of zombies along the way, having a conversation or two with members of the group every now and then, but his memories were patchy. 

“Over there! I think I see it!” Diethard cried out, pointing at the walled prison in the distance. 

Suzaku squinted, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. 

Before he could voice his observations, Tamaki had already beaten him to it, “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home.” 

The place looked like a ghost town, with no human or zombie in sight. 

“Let’s take a closer look,” Xingke suggested. “How about we split up to cover more ground?” 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Suzaku butted in, “What if-“ 

Diethard cleared his throat, “I think there’s a good chance they’re all inside.” 

_That’s a very unlikely presumption,_ the Japanese male thought to himself. If this was the safe haven they were all convincing everyone it is, then the exteriors should at least be guarded. 

In the end, they did split up, despite Suzaku’s protests. Xingke went with Tianzi and Kaguya to explore the outer areas, Suzaku was meant to check the north wing, Tamaki the west wing, and Diethard the east wing. 

They all had CB radios on them just in case they ran into trouble, so the idea eased Suzaku’s nerves even just a little. 

At exactly two o’clock, they were all to report back to the front gates, no questions asked. 

For a brief period of time, all he heard was Tamaki shouting on his end, filling the eerily quiet prison walls, but as he moved further into his assigned wing, his voice eventually faded into nothing. 

Suzaku could hear his own footsteps echo through the empty halls as he navigated through them, this time with a gun equipped with a silencer instead of his katana, as he knew he would eventually need to use his flashlight as he delved deeper into the wing. 

“Hello?” Suzaku decided to try calling out. “Anyone here?” 

He passed pools of dried blood, with the rotten stench of the undead hanging uncomfortably in the air. There were zombies that laid on the floor, unmoving, and Suzaku navigated away from the bodies, keeping himself as far away from the bodies as possible. 

“We’re not going to hurt you!” Suzaku tried again, “We heard your broadcasts on the radio.” 

Still, there was no response. 

Suzaku continued downstairs, trying his luck on another level, but the same sight appeared before him. The stench was growing stronger, to the point that Suzaku grabbed the bandana wrapped around his wrist and tied it around his nose and mouth to relieve his senses. Of course, it was impossible to get rid of the smell fully, but using this method made it bearable. 

“Hello?!” He called out again, his voice muffled by the bandana that slightly covered his mouth. 

Suzaku jogged down to the last floor. It was nearly pitch black, with no windows in the basement, so Suzaku had switched on his flashlight, shining the bright beam and greeted with the same sight as the previous floors. 

That’s when he heard it. 

It was faint, a quiet noise that could have been easily missed. _Humming_ was coming out of the door at the end of the barren hallway, and Suzaku carefully approached with his senses heightened and a constant review of his surroundings, with his heart beating uncontrollably fast in his chest. 

He placed his hand over the doorknob, ready to twist, when- 

“Suzaku!” The CB radio burst with a combination of noise and loud static. The signal was not the best, and even Suzaku had difficulty identifying the voice belonging to Diethard. The noise emitted from the radio easily calmed Suzaku down, and he was incidentally grateful for the distraction. 

The brunet pulled away from the door, taking the bandana off and pressing the button on the radio to talk, “I’m here. What’s wrong?” 

“We need you to come back to the gates. _Now_.” 

He looked back at the untouched door, sighing, replying with a quick “On it” before bolting back up the stairs and running back outside into the light. 

His run slowed to a walk when he noticed Tamaki and Diethard’s sullen faces. 

“What happened?” 

“I heard screaming,” Tamaki’s eyes were wild with fear, “I think it was coming from the back, where Xingke and the girls were headed.” 

“Have you tried contacting them?” Suzaku moved to grab the radio clipped in the waistband of his jeans. 

Tamaki frowned. “I already tried. They won’t respond.” 

“We need to go-“ 

Diethard grabbed Suzaku’s wrist, “Isn’t that one of your boyfriend’s rules? Don’t go looking for the missing.” 

_Because chances are, they’ve already turned and by looking for them, you are risking yourself and the rest of the group,_ Suzaku could almost hear Lelouch finishing the sentence for him. 

“But we can’t just leave them!” Suzaku yelled out. He grabbed his katana out of his bag, strapping it around his waist, and checked that the ammunition of his gun was full, before turning abruptly, “I’m going to go find them. Don’t try to stop me.” 

“Suzaku!” Tamaki called after him, but Diethard stopped him. 

“Tamaki, don’t,” he warned. 

“Look, the only reason we’re all alive is because of Xingke. I owe him this much!” He broke through Diethard’s death grip, following Suzaku to the back of the prison grounds. 

“It’s your funeral,” Diethard spoke sullenly, turning his back and grabbing a backpack of supplies. 

Suzaku couldn’t blame him. 

In the end, it was all about survival, and the end of the world wasn’t for the faint of heart. Sacrifices have to be made constantly, and for others, it makes it difficult to keep going, burdened by the mistakes made in the past. All the ‘what-ifs’ that remained lingering in their heads, pressing eternal questions that cannot, that _shouldn’t_ be answered. 

“Over there!” Tamaki pointed at one of the barbed wire corners, sprinting towards the horde without a second thought. He stumbled past the damaged barbed wire to avoid the other group of zombies, getting himself nicked all over his upper body. 

Red steeped through the purple jacket he was so fond of, but that didn’t stop him from moving forward. 

“Tamaki, wait! Don’t just rush in-“ 

What they failed to notice was the growing horde of zombies behind them, which had now set its target as Tamaki, with his scent of blood now wafting in the air, attracting the undead’s attention. 

**“** Behind you!” Suzaku yelled, and he watched the scene in sheer terror, realising that it was all too late. “Tamaki!” He tried to get closer, but his efforts were futile. The other male was too far forward, and if he tried to get in there with him, he was bound to be trapped. 

Tamaki got caught in the barbed wire, unable to move any further. The zombies managed to get to him easily, their teeth sinking in his flesh. 

“Get… to… Xingke,” he only had enough strength for a whisper, and Suzaku only realised what he said by reading the words he had mouthed. 

He nodded once, following what sounded like Kaguya’s shrill scream. Suzaku unsheathed his katana, swiping and slicing through the horde of zombies in his way. At that point, he had stopped thinking and feeling, numbing himself in his desire to kill the zombies that had taken his friends. 

Suzaku screamed, letting his frustrations out. 

The zombies swarmed around him. He lost his katana, buried in a zombie’s stomach that he soon lost sight of, and just as he had started to lose hope, accepting his inevitable death, Suzaku caught a glimpse of Kaguya’s figure, limp against the chain link fence. 

The young girl had given up, only laying there with a blank expression, unable to move. 

_He needed to get to Kaguya._

Suzaku kicked a couple of the zombies back, taking his gun out of the waistband of his jeans, and shooting the zombies close to him until he ran out of bullets. 

“Hold on, Kaguya,” he promised, finally spotting the shining glint of his blade in one of the zombies approaching him. 

He grabbed the hilt of his sword, slashing through heads and limbs to the point he lost count. His vision was blurry, only remembering the black goo that stained his clothes and splattered around him. 

The brunet found an opening amidst the horde of the undead, dashing his way through the gap before it could disappear. 

“Kaguya!” He knelt beside her, brows tightly knit together and green eyes wide with worry. 

“Suzaku,” she whispered, “You shouldn’t have come. It’s too late for me now,” Kaguya gestured at the blood dripping down her arm, stemming from what was unmistakably a zombie bite. 

“No! There has to be something we can do-“ 

“There isn’t, Suzaku, and you know this,” She let out a sad smile. “You need to go.” 

“I can’t leave you alone,” Suzaku replied, his voice broken. 

“Please, Suzaku, while you still have the chance, _please go_. Save yourself.” Her eyes slowly fluttered close, the remaining remnants of humanity left in the young girl, before a low growl hummed from her throat, and when her eyes opened again, they were wild, _glassy_ , filled with the need to take human flesh. 

Suzaku scrambled backwards, grabbing his katana and standing up, only to turn and find a group of zombies headed his way, which had included the now walking corpse of Tamaki, Xingke, and the small form of Tianzi. 

Green eyes scanned his surroundings, spotting a door to the wing he had explored earlier. Not left with much of a choice, Suzaku decided to risk it, opting to going back inside. 

He kept running, missing a step or two every now and then and stumbling forward, his heart lurching. Suzaku remembered the door he left unopened in the basement, and he made it his mission to find out what was behind it. 

_There had to be more survivors._

Suzaku gripped the door handle tightly, throwing it open and slamming it against the concrete wall. 

Wide amber eyes met his gaze on the other end of the room, and the peculiar green-haired girl dropped a slice of pizza she had just heated up from the microwave. 

“Holy _shit._ ” 


	9. RULE 8: SAFETY IN NUMBERS

There were better ways Lelouch could think of to wake up to on a fine Thursday morning, especially after travelling for so long the day before. 

Unfortunately, being held at gunpoint by a mystery woman was not one of them. 

Violet eyes scanned his surroundings after recognising the cold barrel of a gun against his head, immediately spotting Gino restrained on the ground by a man with curly hair, both covered in bruises and cuts. Nunnally wasn’t held at gunpoint, much to Lelouch’s relief, and she was instead being guarded by a woman with waist length blue hair tied up in a high ponytail. 

“Nice of you to finally join us, sleeping beauty,” the woman behind him spoke, and Lelouch turned slowly to find a redheaded teenager with bright blue eyes, who looked very much willing to kill him at any second. She sported dark denim jeans and combat shoes, with a black tank top and a leather jacket that looked dangerously close to kicking the bucket. 

“Good morning to you too, I guess,” Lelouch shrugged. “Care to tell me what you’re after? As you can see, we don’t really have much to give you.” 

It was true. They barely had anything, and Lelouch didn’t think much of it as they were so close to their destination. He decided they will be able to replenish their resources eventually once the plan to inhabit the island started rolling. 

Blue eyes narrowed, appearing pretty irritated, “What are you doing here?” She gestured at the military base that surrounded them, decrepit and nearly falling apart, but still doing a decent job of keeping the undead out. 

_Ah,_ Lelouch thought, _so that’s why there weren’t a lot of zombies to fend off since they’ve arrived. It appeared the military base was already inhabited to begin with._

He raised both his hands to surrender. “Look, we’re just trying to get to the dock. Once we get there, we’ll be out of your hair.” 

“What makes you think I can trust you?” The barrel dug deeper into his ebony locks, making him wince. 

“One,” Lelouch started, “That’s actually starting to hurt. Ease it a little. Two, you can’t. It’s impossible to tell for sure. Did we raid this military base just for fun? Are we here to take all your resources and leave you with nothing? Or am I telling the truth? Take your pick. In the end, it doesn’t matter what I say.” 

“What a smartass,” the woman guarding Nunnally rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. 

The curly haired man sighed, “We’re just taking extra precautions. Last year, we let a couple of survivors in and they took everything. It took a while for us to get back on our feet, and it’s really taken a toll on the team’s morale.” 

The raven dropped his head, understanding full well that it was the truth. “I know exactly what you mean. We were doing well until some people we took in wanted to kill us to take all of our resources.” 

“How about we start over then?” the man smiled. He let go of Gino, who grunted and shot daggers at him with his gaze. “I’m Ohgi, that’s my wife, Villetta, and of course, there’s Kallen.” 

“But Ohgi-“ Kallen protested, only to be shot down with an expectant look. 

“You shouldn’t be too trusting,” Lelouch commented, patting the dust off his clothes and heading for Gino to check his wounds. 

“That’s what nearly got us killed last time,” the redhead muttered under her breath, clicking the safety on and placing it back on its holster. 

Ohgi shook his head. “The end of world doesn’t mean we should shut off our humanity.” 

“Okay Gandhi, does that mean you’re letting us through?” Gino raised an impatient eyebrow. 

“Yes. On one condition,” Ohgi let out a small smile. “We’re a bit low of people here, you see, and we’re in the middle of the works of a new safe haven. We need some people to run the radio to tell people to come here.” 

“It’s fine, Gino,” Lelouch placed a hand on the blond Britannian’s shoulder, coaxing the other male to calm down. “We accept. I should be able to set up a channel and get you going.” 

“Big brother, what’s happening?” 

Violet eyes softened. “Everything’s alright, Nunnally. We’re just going to be helping some people out and we’ll be on our way, okay?” 

“Wow, it’s like a switch,” Kallen commented in a bored tone. “Do you normally just jump from borderline psychopathic to concerned brother in milliseconds?” 

Lelouch ignored the comment, looking back up at Ohgi. “My name is Lelouch, this is Gino, and Nunnally. I thank you for having us and I apologise for our earlier behaviour.” 

Ohgi smiled. “I apologise for the intrusive wake up call. I’m afraid Kallen didn’t want to waste any time,” he laughed briefly, “Also, there are a couple more people I want you to meet. Lloyd and Rakshata are in the laboratory. They’re former scientists trying to figure out the nature of the virus and possibly, _hopefully_ , come up with a vaccine for it.” 

_A vaccine for the zombie virus?_

Lelouch scoffed, “That’s impossible. There’s no way-“ 

“They were able to replicate the virus in a laboratory setting,” Villetta piped in, “That’s a significant start. They’re both incredibly talented, and it won’t be long for them to figure out how to save us all.” 

“Hm,” Lelouch leaned forward, interested. “I’d love to meet them.” Acquainting himself with the people who could accomplish such feats was bound to be useful in the long run. 

“Follow me,” Ohgi gestured for the building ahead, and Lelouch stepped forward, but not before being pulled back by Gino. 

His blue eyes expressed genuine concern, “Lelouch, what if this is a trap?” 

“It’ll be fine,” the raven reassured him, squeezing his hand lightly, “Just stay here with Nunnally. If we play our cards right, we should stay safe.” 

“But-“ 

“I’ve got this. Trust me.” 

Gino reluctantly let go of his hand, slumping his shoulders on his way back to Nunnally, and receiving instructions from Kallen and Villetta on where to go. 

Lelouch followed Ohgi through the base. It seemed with the lack of power, they had effectively shut the security system, allowing them to go wherever they wanted to go. 

“How long have you been here?” Lelouch asked curiously. 

“A couple of months. It took us a while to clear the base, but once we’ve done that, it was smooth sailing. Not including the raid, of course,” Ohgi explained, stopping in front of a white door, and pulling it open. 

They walked into a laboratory, smelling strongly of disinfectant, almost like a hospital, and Lelouch watched the two scientists interact curiously. 

“You know what this place needs?” A lavender-haired male in a lab gown sighed, leaning over the white counter and poking at the liquid settling at the bottom of a test tube with a surgical scalpel. “Pudding.” 

“Shut it Lloyd, I’m trying to work here!” The woman across him glared at him, resuming her work on the microscopes. 

“We’re _both_ trying to work here,” Lloyd corrected, he shifted, losing his attention on the test tube, leaning back with a bored expression. 

“Yeah, as if,” the woman scoffed, “You just sit there all day and complain how you don’t have pudding. Tell me how that’s useful.” 

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Rakshata, have you forgotten who replicated the virus? Oh, that’s right, that was _me_.” 

Ohgi cleared his throat, and the two scientists turned their attention to the visitors. 

“I don’t suppose you have pudding, do you?” Lloyd asked the raven, hopeful. 

_The dude’s a total nutcase._ “No, I’m afraid not.” 

“How unfortunate.” 

“Lloyd, Rakshata,” Ohgi spoke louder, “This is Lelouch. He’ll be helping us man the radio. If we’re going to be the new safe haven, then we need to do this right.” 

“Hang on,” Lelouch’s gaze flicked over to Ohgi. “The other safe haven. What happened to it?” 

He couldn’t help but ask, despite knowing full well that Suzaku should be at the very back of his mind. 

“Corruption within the ranks. People got greedy with the resources, and the place ended up becoming overrun,” he replied grimly. “Kallen was one of the few that was from there that only barely managed to escape.” 

It was no surprise. After all, it was what Lelouch had expected. He warned the group they were with prior, but instead, they clung onto the hope that kept them going, no doubt only for them to lose it and turn back because the safe haven they all desired was as far from safe as you can get. 

He only hoped they were smart enough to turn back and find another place to stay. 

_Was Suzaku alright?_ He wondered, no, he _hoped_. Suzaku kept his stupid promises, and there was only one he had ever wanted him to keep. 

Yet his anger took control too easily, and he wasn’t too sure how he would react if he saw the brunet he was, _is,_ in love with again. 

There were many things exchanged between them that day that they probably didn’t mean, but Lelouch had to do what’s best for Nunnally. He didn’t trust the safe haven, nor did he want to waste precious time, so they had to move, even if it meant being without Suzaku. 

Lelouch was the one who told him to stay away, not wanting to see the face of the one who betrayed him, not wanting to accept the truth behind his last words. 

In the face of the apocalypse, he doubted he would ever see him again. 

The thought left him sullen, leaving the raven to his predicament. Could he even forgive him for what he had done? 

But what if, _what if_ , they responded to one of his calls? What if they had the chance to be reunited once more? What if the impossible became possible? Would seeing him again change his mind? 

“Lelouch?” 

The raven blinked, realising he had just zoned out again. “Pleasure to meet you Lloyd and Rakshata.” He stormed out of the room, wanting to be alone. 

Indulging in what ifs was a dangerous pastime, and he knew better than to submit himself to hope. 

It was only going to get taken. 


	10. RULE #9: (DON'T) BE A HERO

“Hold that door!” 

“Huh?” Suzaku stepped further into the room, confused. 

“I said, _hold that door!”_ She spoke a thousand words a minute, and Suzaku could barely keep up, “It can only be opened from the outside!” 

“It can only what?” The stranger’s words finally processed in his head, and green eyes burst wide open, as he turned, drawing his katana out of its hilt and keeping the door from shutting. 

The woman let out a breath of relief, “Thank _god_.” 

“Who are you? What are you doing here? What happened to the prison?” 

She lifted her arms in surrender. “One at a time, samurai boy. My name is C.C. I’m a medical researcher of the Britannian empire,” she introduced herself as she cleaned up the gooey mess on the floor with a couple of serviettes, scooping them into the bin. “Do you want pizza?” 

“How do you even _have_ pizza?!” 

This whole situation was ridiculous, and Suzaku didn’t even know where to start. 

“You’d be surprised how long frozen pizza lasts. When the outbreak started, you can bet that the local Costco was my first destination,” C.C. winked. 

“Uh…” Suzaku saw the pizza boxes piling up in the corner, right beside a decent sized chest freezer. “I… see that.” 

_Were there any normal people left in the world?_

“So… the prison,” C.C. had cleaned up the mess and had since relocated to the computer chair in the far corner of the room. “There were a couple of people who weren’t happy about how the place was run. Eventually, it drove people away. After that, it was pretty much chaos. The resources weren’t being distributed equally and no one trusted each other. With the lack of people keeping watch, the zombies eventually broke through and overrun the place. At least, that’s what I think happened anyway. I’ve been stuck here for a long time, and I only pick up bits and pieces of information every now and then. At one point, people just stopped coming, and I assumed the worst. Luckily for me, they barely send anyone down here, so I have food stocked up.” 

“Why are you locked up then?” Suzaku raised an eyebrow, careful of C.C. There had to be a good reason she was restrained in a room that could only be opened from the outside. 

He fixated his attention on finding a weapon. His katana was wedged between the door so that was out of the question, and his gun was out of bullets. There was a counter with a number of colourful liquids, but Suzaku knew better than to risk using them when he didn’t know what they were. 

“I’ve been asked to find a cure of some sort for the zombie virus.” 

Her words tore him from his search for a weapon. “A cure? Is it even possible?” 

C.C. frowned. “I highly doubt it. Zombies are walking corpses. It’s impossible to restore rotten flesh. The best we’re going to get is a form of vaccine, but even that is a difficult feat. To top it all off, my notes are in the Pendragon Military Base, and without them, I can’t go much further with this research.” 

“And if you have those notes… will you be able to create a vaccine?” Suzaku asked, hopeful. 

“Possibly.” 

Suzaku scratched the back of his head. “Also, that still doesn’t answer why you’re locked up. I don’t know about you, but that just seems a bit suspicious to me.” 

“I don’t know about you but having a sword-wielding maniac burst through my doors of solitary confinement _also_ seems pretty suspicious to me,” she mimicked, flicking her long hair behind her shoulder. 

“It’s a katana,” Suzaku mumbled under his breath, correcting the stranger. 

The green-haired girl rolled her eyes. “If I tell you everything, you need to promise you won’t kill me.” 

“What can be so bad that you need that kind of reassurance?” Suzaku raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” C.C. frowned, looking back up at Suzaku expectantly for his response. When he finally nodded (reluctantly), she began pacing the room, “I used to work for the Geass Order. It was an underground project by Emperor Charles to create a virus that will control the drastically increasing human population. The goal was to release it, then prepare a vaccine for the remaining chosen. Now the problem was… the virus was leaked before the vaccine could be created-” 

“Wait, _you_ created the zombie virus? _You started the goddamn apocalypse?!_ ” Suzaku picked up the wooden broom he spotted from his peripheral vision, breaking it in half with his knee, and aimed it dangerously close to the stranger’s pale neck. “Do you have any idea how many _you’ve_ killed?” 

“Look,” C.C. sighed, unfazed by his act of violence. “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, but I’m trying to set everything straight. I want to help. I want to be able to create that vaccine that will help the remaining survivors.” 

The wood shook uncontrollably, and it took every bit of his restraint to throw it to the other side of the room, rage just barely contained within him. “How can you act so nonchalant about all this?” 

C.C. shrugged, “There’s no point dwelling in the past. If you keep looking behind you, then you’ll never go forward.” 

_Sounds exactly like something Lelouch would say_ . 

Her head perked up. “Did you just say Lelouch?” 

“I-er,” Suzaku realised immediately he had accidentally voiced his thoughts. Amber eyes watched him carefully, and at this point, there was no turning back. His shoulders slumped as he sighed, “Yeah. I did.” 

“As in, Prince Lelouch?” C.C. repeated. 

The brunet’s brows furrowed together. “How do you know that?” 

It was his secret. _Their_ secret. No one knew Lelouch was royalty, and they intended to keep it that way for as long as they can. 

“When I was working with the Geass Order, his name was on Charles’ grand ‘worthy to live’ list. I found it a bit odd as he seemed to bear the royal name, but I hadn’t heard of him before. Strangely enough, I see Charles’ children around the palace frequently, but I have never met Lelouch. Also, I found that even some of his _own_ children weren’t on the list, so I figured there was something possibly even special about him. What do you know?” 

“He’s my childhood best friend,” Suzaku smiled sadly, “And ex-boyfriend.” 

“Yikes. What happened?” 

“He was sent away after the assassination attempts when he had an argument with his father about it,” Suzaku explained, “So Lelouch and his sister, Nunnally, started living with me and my family. The rest is history, at least until the outbreak. We stayed in Ashford for about a year, and we could’ve easily stayed for longer if it wasn’t for this guy named Luciano and his crew. They took everything from us,” he clenched his fists at the thought of that day, “Since then, we’ve had to move around, which is pretty difficult as Nunnally’s both blind and crippled. But the thing is, if there’s any one person Lelouch loves most in the world – it’s going to be Nunnally, and he would do anything for her.” 

Emerald green eyes watered. “The other week, Nunnally’s confessed to me that she wanted to be left behind because she saw herself as a burden, which of course, I refused to do.” 

“I sense a great big ‘but’ here.” 

“ _But_ she made me promise not to tell her brother about it.” 

“Uh oh.” 

“And it ends exactly as how you imagine it would. For some reason, Lelouch found out about this whole predicament and got mad at me. We had a huge fight about it and I said a lot of words I really didn’t mean,” Suzaku winced, remembering the harsh words they had exchanged, “And at the time, Lelouch was already doubting the validity of the safe haven, so he decided to leave with Nunnally the next day. Even though I don’t like the guy, I guess it’s good that Gino ended up going with them, so they wouldn’t have to travel alone-” 

“Wait, _Gino?_ ” C.C. interrupted, “Gino _Weinberg_? Tall, blond, has the brightest fucking blue eyes in the planet? Could charm the pants off a nun?” 

“Yes…?” Suzaku responded reluctantly, watching C.C.’s reaction change from heavily invested in his sob story to deep concern. 

“This isn’t good,” the woman started pacing around the room again, “This is _not good_.” 

Suzaku stopped in front of her tracks, “Yeah, I heard you the first time. Tell me, what’s wrong?” 

“Remember when I said Lelouch was on that list?” 

“Yeah?” 

“When Charles wants something, he makes sure he gets it. Gino is one of Charles’ elite guards, and there’s no doubt he’s somehow leading Lelouch back to him. If Luciano was after you guys too, then Charles must have sent his Knights of the Round to do the dirty work.” 

Every answer with this strange woman only seemed to attract even more questions. 

“Wait, what?” 

“Let me spell it out for you. Gino is not a good guy. In fact, he’s far from it. Lelouch was on that list, but Nunnally wasn’t. That means Charles has no need for her. I have no doubt that he will eliminate her when he gets the chance.” 

“I need to get back to them!” Suzaku marched back to the door, retrieving his katana and opening the door wide open. 

“Don’t leave me here!” C.C. cursed when she realised Suzaku was going to shut the door behind him, “If you help me, I’ll help you. Get me to the base and I’ll tell you where Gino intends to take Lelouch.” 

Green eyes regarded the woman carefully, wondering if he was going to be betrayed, or worse, _killed_ along the way. C.C. could have easily still been on Charles’ side, and perhaps leaving her here was the safest option for all of humanity. 

“I know what’s going through your head, boy,” the green-haired woman called out, “I know if I was in your position, I wouldn’t trust me either, so it’s a lot to ask of you, but _please_ , give me a chance to prove to you that I want to make things right. I may not have seen what it’s like up there, but I know how much chaos and destruction I have taken a part of. Believe me when I say I really want to help.” 

Suzaku sighed. “Fine, but you can’t have any weapons on you.” 

“Deal!” 


	11. RULE #10: DON'T GET ATTACHED

“Over there!” 

Lelouch drew his bow and released after Gino gave him his target, his shot flawless. 

“Woah!” Gino cheered, inspecting the undead that laid on the ground. “That was totally ten points.” 

Violet eyes scanned the zombie, sighing. He had missed just a little, and no doubt Suzaku would have taken points off for that. He frowned, knowing full well his aim hasn’t exactly been the best recently. 

“I’m surprised you’ve volunteered for some jobs around the base,” Lelouch commented. 

Gino wasn’t exactly happy about the arrangement, just wanting to get their part done with and move on with their original plans. Lelouch has the radio channel up and running but decided to stay for a bit longer to gather supplies for their island journey. 

Today he volunteered to clear the zombies south of the military base, mainly to gauge some resources in the area, and to his surprise, Gino was the other volunteer. 

“What can I say? I just like spending time with you,” the blond Britannian shrugged. 

“Charming,” Lelouch replied blandly, his eyes searching for the camping store he knew was in the area. When he found the establishment, he let out a breath of relief, heading into the store and checking for zombies and surprisingly, finding none. 

The raven moved around the store with ease, finding the stuff they needed and shoving them all in his duffel bag. 

When he finished finding the items they needed, Lelouch found Gino sprawled on the couch in the centre of the store, and the raven chuckled to himself, sitting next to the taller male and relaxing against the back of the lounge. 

“Did you get everything?” 

Lelouch nodded, gesturing at the full duffel bag. “Yes, I’m ready to go when you are.” 

Gino sat back up, “Do we really have to?” 

“They’ll worry if we don’t come back soon.” 

“Can we stay just for a little while longer?” Gino trailed his fingers over Lelouch’s pale hand, leaving soft touches in its wake. 

“Gino,” Lelouch cleared his throat. “I already told you, I can’t give you what you want. Suzaku-” 

“Shhhh,” he leaned close to the raven’s ear, “I know you miss him, and I think I can help with that.” 

“What are you talking about-“ 

“Close your eyes,” Gino said softly, and the raven obliged. He ran his hand in Lelouch’s inky black hair, tucking the strands that covered his eyes behind his ear. “Pretend I’m him.” 

His lips quivered and his eyes shot open, “No, this is wrong-“ 

“You know you want to,” Blue eyes gazed at him with concern, with a flash of what seemed like hurt. “Lelouch,” he spoke tenderly, filling him with warmth that he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Lelouch shut his eyes, almost hearing Suzaku’s voice. He threw his head back, and he swallowed the lump in his throat. He pictured his emerald green eyes, looking at him with such love and tenderness that it made his knees shake. 

“Suzaku,” he gasped, closing the gap between them and pressing his lips against his. 

If he kept his eyes closed, he looks just like _him_. 

Dishevelled brown hair, bright green eyes, and that boyish grin was all that overcame his senses, and Lelouch indulged himself in his fantasy, even just this once. 

If he kept his eyes closed, he _feels_ just like _him_. 

They moved together, wanting, _needing_ to be closer. Lelouch’s entire body shook when he snapped out of his haze, and he found himself pinned under Gino’s body, their clothes a messy pile on the floor. 

Lelouch wished he could say that it was a one-time thing. 

But it soon spiralled out of control. 

He knew it was wrong, _so wrong_ , but he couldn’t help himself. 

It grew into an addiction that was far from healthy as you can get, but Lelouch had what he wanted and so did Gino, and it evolved into a silent arrangement between the two Britannians, neither of them able to hold back. 

It became a paradise, _an escape_ , from the reality they had the misfortune of living. 

*** 

A scream erupted from the lower levels of the military base, and those that heard it scrambled to the noise. 

Kallen was the first to lead the charge, gun poised and ready if she needed it. She slid down the handrails of the stairs, landing effortlessly at the end of each level. 

Lelouch was in the broadcasting room at the time, and he tried his damndest to keep up with her pace but found himself several steps behind at best. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted a lifeless body in the hallway, surrounded in a pool of bright red blood. 

The redhead drew her gun and shot at the zombies that attacked Villetta, taking them down. 

Ohgi trailed behind Lelouch, and upon seeing the sight, the raven turned around, pushing Ohgi into the other connecting hallway. 

“Lelouch, what are you-“ Ohgi’s eyes widened, “Villetta!” he ran towards his wife, kneeling on the floor beside her. His hands and clothes were quickly soaked with blood. 

It appeared Villetta was no longer conscious and wasn’t responding to anyone. It was unsurprising, given the significant blood loss. 

“Get Lloyd or Rakshata!” Ohgi yelled. 

Kallen frowned. “Ohgi, she’s already gone.” 

“No, no she isn’t! She’ll be fine if you just get one of the medics here,” tears ran down his face in a steady stream, and he was clutching onto her body tightly. 

“Ohgi,” Lelouch said quietly, “You know Kallen is right.” He glanced at the redhead, who wore the expression of concern. “You know what must be done.” 

“I can’t,” Ohgi’s voice broke, “I can’t. Our baby is still in there.” 

Kallen’s eyes widened, scrambling backwards. “She- Villetta’s pregnant?” 

“We only just found out,” Ohgi dropped his head, keeping his gaze on his wife’s unmoving body, “I- I can’t do it.” 

“I’ll do it,” Lelouch spoke sullenly, taking his gun out of its holster. “It needs to be done. Otherwise, she’ll turn into one of them and be more of a danger to us all.” 

He waited for Kallen and Ohgi’s slow nods before taking the safety off and pulling the trigger, sending the echoes of the shot reverberating throughout the base. 

They carried Villetta’s body to the yard, helping Ohgi dig her grave. Dirt stuck to their skin, muddying their sweat. 

Throughout the morose task, silent sobs filled the air, crying, _begging_ for release. The tears that watered over their eyes made the task more difficult, but they eventually finished the job. 

Lelouch and Kallen decided to give Ohgi some time alone, stepping aside and keeping their distance but staying close enough to make sure he didn’t do anything rash. 

Kallen wiped a stray tear from her eye, and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Lelouch. “I can’t believe she’s gone. They took me in when they had no reason to, and they treated me so kindly. She didn’t deserve this kind of death.” 

Lelouch sighed, returning the hug, “Unfortunately that’s the kind of world we live in. We don’t have a say on who gets to live or die.” 

The redhead sniffled as she pulled away with puffy eyes. “Do you think Ohgi will be okay?” 

“I don’t know,” Lelouch admitted, “But I know he’ll try his best.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Kallen let out a small smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First part of the chapter was inspired by Halsey's "Eyes Closed" (If you haven't listened, please do!)


	12. RULE #11: EXPECT THE WORST

“I can’t believe I’m hotwiring a _car_.” 

“Better believe it fast, samurai boy. Now _hurry,_ we can’t be out here for too long,” C.C. folded her arms over her chest. 

“Did you really have to pick _this_ car though?” Suzaku gave C.C. an expectant look, gesturing at the bright yellow sedan that C.C. chose. “I’m sure we’ll be seen from the _moon_.” 

“Yes. It’s the only car I found that’s old enough for us to break into that _probably_ won’t let out a crazy loud alarm that will attract all the zombies here and the next town over!” C.C. huffed, “ _Now_ , did you find those cables?” 

“What colour were they meant to be again?” 

C.C. rolled her eyes, flipping open her convenient copy of _‘The Definitive Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse’_. Amber eyes scanned the pages, “Okay, red cables. Are there red cables?” 

Suzaku squinted, “I mean, I guess it kind of looks red?” 

The scientist didn’t even look up when she responded, “Okay, that one. They’re the power cables. Strip the ends and twist them together.” 

“And you’re like _100% sure_ I won’t die from electrocution?” 

“Er, yeah, of course,” C.C. coughed. 

The brunet sighed, taking in a deep breath and followed her instructions. The car started up, and he let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. What’s next?” _And he was still alive!_

“Now look for the brown cables.” 

“Uh…” Suzaku searched the cables, identifying one that looked more or less brown, “Got it… I think?” 

“Strip the ends and just let the ends touch each other, then wrap the electric tape around it. Make sure you don’t touch the live wire!” 

He followed the instructions, eyes widening when he found a spark emit from the cable. “Did that work?” 

“I guess now we try it out?” 

Suzaku adjusted the driver’s seat, throwing all the tools they used to start the car in the back. He slipped into the vehicle and placed his hands on the steering wheel, “It’s not moving,” he frowned. 

C.C. let out a sigh of frustration, checking another section of the book, “Er, shove the screwdriver in here,” she pointed at a section between the column and the steering wheel. “Try to wiggle it around until it can move freely.” 

“They make this look so much easier in the movies,” Suzaku mumbled, shoving the tool in the area she pointed and moving the wheel from side to side. “Huh, what do you know? It works!” 

The green-haired woman shoved her bag in the trunk before sitting in the passenger seat, wary of the zombies that finally noticed their presence and starting to approach the car. 

“Seatbelts!” 

C.C. raised an eyebrow, “Are you kidding me?” 

“Safety first. Apocalypse or not,” Suzaku replied cheerfully as he adjusted the mirrors and took the car out of the park. “Now, where are we heading?” 

The scientist took out the map from her pocket, unfolding the huge piece of paper, “Turn left here to get to the highway. Once we’re there, we just need to find the exit for the military base and follow signs from there.” 

“Roger that.” 

C.C. leaned against her seat, throwing her head back, “Ah, finally.” 

“I never would have thought of hotwiring a car,” Suzaku trained his eyes on the road, mindful of the many cars that he had to avoid. “Though Lelouch might have. Honestly, he probably knows how to without that book. I won’t be surprised,” he chuckled to himself. 

“Tell me about him.” 

“Lelouch?” Suzaku licked his lips, suddenly feeling dry. “Ah, what can I say? He’s… smart, like _crazy smart_. He always puts his loved ones before himself. He’s analytical, always questioning everything that doesn’t necessarily have to be questioned. Honestly, sometimes I think he just does it for the fun of it. I remember back in Ashford, he would test the rules to their absolute limit, sometimes even deliberately breaking them. Nothing too bad, sometimes skipping school to play _chess_ of all things or pretending to be sick to get some sleep in the nurse’s office because he’s spent the night before researching on the most random things. He’d always have arguments with the school principal, but for some reason always come out of it without punishment. Everyone thinks it’s just because he’s the favourite,” Suzaku chuckled. 

“But he has this way with words. You can go from feeling absolute dejection to full on confidence after a conversation with him, or go from being on opposite sides of an argument to the same side and you don’t even know when or how it started happening…” 

The number of times Lelouch had picked him up when he was at his lowest had been too much to count. There was no doubt the Britannian had saved him, and he owes everything to Lelouch. To the boy that gave him hope when there was none left. 

He didn’t even know when he started crying. 

One minute he was reminiscing the good times and the next, _missing_ him. 

“Hey, Suzaku?” 

The brunet blinked, “Yeah?” 

“You’ll find him again,” C.C. let out a tight smile. “I know you will.” 

“Thanks,” Suzaku sighed, gripping the steering wheel, “But I honestly doubt he wants to ever see me again.” 

He slowed the car down to weave his way around the congestion of vehicles ahead and speeding back up when the road was clear again. 

“He’ll come around,” was all C.C. said before she gazed out of the window. 

Suzaku could only hope he would. 

*** 

It only took an hour and a half to get to the base. 

Normally, it would have taken much less time, but having to stop and navigate through abandoned cars or those that collided with each other made it a bit more difficult of a task. 

On the way there, C.C. played around with the radio, actually finding a channel with a broadcast. Ironically, it was coming from the military base, as it seemed they were currently in the process of establishing it as the new safe haven. 

It was definitely going to make the trip easier, as they didn’t have to fight through soldier zombies like they thought they would have to. If they were already calling out on survivors, then that meant the place was already secure. 

Suzaku parked the car just before the gates of the base, mutually deciding with C.C. to walk the rest of the way. 

“ _You!”_ the woman beside him started marching towards the gates, stomping on the ground and a look of fury in check. 

There was a redhead guarding the gate, eyes widening in utter fear. “Oh.” 

“You left me!” C.C. whined, dropping her bag on the ground. 

“I didn’t know you were still alive!” The redhead admitted, “I’m sorry. When the gates fell, it was just chaos.” 

“Er, do you guys know each other?” Suzaku interrupted, confused of the scene unfolding before him. 

Amber eyes narrowed. “Yes. This is Kallen. She used to stay at the prison before it was overrun.” 

Kallen scratched the back of her head, smiling apologetically. “Nice to meet you…?” 

“Oh. Suzaku. My name is Suzaku.” 

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Kallen furrowed her brows, carefully regarding the newcomer’s features. 

“I’m afraid not…” 

“Oh! Now I know where I’ve seen you from. I’ve always wondered what Lelouch was after when he went to the rooftop for his breaks, so I followed him one time, and all he did was lean against the railings and bring out this photo of you two… I never thought to ask as he never mentioned anything, and I figured with Gino around it wasn’t a good idea either because it might cause problems in their relationship-“ 

“Wait, Lelouch is here?” Suzaku butted in, eyes wild with newfound hope. 

“Well…” Kallen frowned. “He _was_ here, but you’ve just missed them. They left a couple of hours ago.” 

“Do you know where they’re headed?” 

The redhead shook her head. “No, unfortunately not-“ 

“And he’s with Gino?” C.C. asked carefully, gauging Suzaku’s reaction. 

Kallen nodded. “Yeah, what’s going on?” 

“Lover boy here wants his boyfriend back.” 

“Way to explain it, C.C.” Suzaku rolled his eyes. “There’s really no time. All you need to know is that Gino is up to no good and we need to save Lelouch.” He started making his way back to the car, but C.C. grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. “Hey! I already brought you here, didn’t I? Now let me go. I need to bring them back!” 

“I’m coming with you,” C.C. announced. “You can’t do this alone, and it’s the least I can do.” 

“As will I,” Kallen piped in. “Just let me head back and explain the situation to Ohgi. We’ve got a lot more people coming in, so my position is easily replaced. For now, come in and get some rest. I’ll pick up some resources for the trip.” 

Suzaku stared at the sky above them, hoping against all hope that both Lelouch and Nunnally were alright. 


	13. RULE #12: REMEMBER EMOTIONS STILL EXIST

The details surrounding Villetta’s death were peculiar, to say the least. 

There was no reason for her to be on that floor that day, or for _any day,_ really. That area of the base hasn’t been appropriately secured yet, and Ohgi was making plans to clear the section a few weeks from now. 

“What were you doing here, Villetta?” Lelouch wondered aloud, the heels of his shoes clicking in the eerily silent hallway. 

He spotted the pool of dried blood, recalling the discovery of her lifeless body much too vividly for his liking. 

The raven sighed, kneeling down on one knee and checking his surroundings for a clue. _Any_ clue. 

Violet eyes looked up, finding a door on the other end of the hallway. He stood back up, raising his gun, ready to attack in case a zombie appeared. 

He twisted the doorknob, revealing a room that’s pretty much turned upside down. Drawers were burst open, with papers and folders littering the floor. He ran his eyes over the documents, realising it was a room with confidential information. 

There was a bound book on the desk, with a couple of pages torn from it. Lelouch flipped through it, not finding much information. He sighed, shutting the bound project book titled ‘The Geass Order’. 

The CB radio hooked in his jeans beeped loudly, “Lelouch!” 

He pressed the button on the side to respond promptly, “Kallen?” 

“Lelouch, you need to get to the main base, _now_. It’s Nunnally!” 

“Nunnally?” His eyes widened, immediately breaking into a run out of the room and heading to the main building. 

He burst through the huge double doors, finding a group congregating at the bottom of the staircase. “What’s wrong?” Lelouch demanded, stopping in his tracks when he found Nunnally’s unmoving body against the wall, blood seeping through her hair. 

“Nunnally?” Lelouch pushed away the onlookers, dropping down to his knees and clutching her close to his chest. “What happened here?! Why isn’t she moving?” 

“There was screaming,” Kallen’s voice cracked, her hands shook wildly as remnants of blood stained them. “Then there was a crash. I tried to get here as fast as I could but… I was too late.” 

Lelouch spotted Nunnally’s wheelchair, now a crumpled mess set aside. He shook his head, turning his full attention back to his younger sister, “Nunnally,” his voice was no more than a whisper. 

“Nunnally!” He screamed, trying to shake her awake. “Nunnally, _wake up._ ” He looked up, finding Lloyd and Rakshata with sullen expressions. They shook their heads sadly, and Lelouch pressed his mouth in a firm line, harshly wiping the tears that ran down his face. 

“Who did this?” He stood, gripping the handle of the gun tucked at the back of his jeans. He clicked the safety off, shakily aiming the firearm at the people that surrounded him. _“WHO DID THIS?”_

There was only silence, and the anger within him welled deeper, “I am _Lelouch vi Britannia,_ heir of the Britannian empire, and I _command you_ to tell me _who did this_?” His tone was venomous, and his gaze could kill, but no one spoke a word. “Whoever you are,” he bared his teeth, “You’ve just killed a princess, and that is punishable by death.” 

“Lelouch,” Kallen said gently, approaching him slowly, “Put the gun down.” 

“ _Like hell I will!”_ Lelouch sneered. “Not until I find out who did this!” He turned wildly, his surroundings becoming a blur. “ _Now tell me and I will happily carry out the execution you deserve!_ ” He laughed humourlessly, pulling the trigger of his gun and shooting through the drywall. “If no one comes forward, I swear to God I’ll _kill you all_.” 

The people around him screamed and ran away from him, and huge lean arms enveloped his fragile frame without warning. 

“Get away from me!” Lelouch screamed, kicking and thrashing to get away from the grasp. “Let me go!” 

Gino’s grip only tightened, and he was able to get the gun away from the crazed raven, kicking it towards Kallen. “I’ll take care of this,” he assured the stricken redhead. 

“Nunnally’s dead,” Lelouch kept repeating, “Nunnally’s gone.” 

The blond Britannian pulled him into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Gino shoved the raven onto the bed, pinning him, “Lelouch, listen to me.” 

“There’s no point. Without Nunnally, there’s no point,” Lelouch whispered, eyes wild and breathing heavily. 

“Lelouch,” Gino repeated, bright blue eyes laced with concern, “Lelouch, listen to me.” 

“I will make whoever did this _pay_ ,” Lelouch clenched his fists, using all his force to get out of Gino’s death grip. 

“Lelouch,” the taller male cupped the other’s cheek, wiping the tears away with his thumb. “Come back to me. I want to help. What do you want me to do?” 

“I…” The raven stared at his hands, numb to everything. “I can’t feel,” his voice cracked, and he averted his gaze. 

“Okay. I can work with that,” Gino captured the raven’s lips, hands moving down his chest and unbuttoning his shirt deftly. Gino pinned the raven’s wrists above his head, trailing kisses down his slender neck. “Don’t think. Just feel,” he whispered. “Feel for me, Lelouch.” 

Lelouch shut his eyes, focusing on the sensations instead of his grief. 

*** 

“I need to sort all of this out with Ohgi,” Gino gave him an apologetic look as he shrugged his shirt back on. “I’m afraid I have to go.” He tucked loose strands of ebony hair behind Lelouch’s ear. 

The raven frowned. Without the distraction, Lelouch was afraid he would lose control like he did earlier, and be a danger not only to himself, but to others. 

But his actions earlier were unforgivable, and he understood the need for the urgent discussion with Ohgi. 

He nodded once, “Of course.” 

“You can stay here until I get back,” Gino smiled, squeezing his hand before finally getting up. 

“Yeah, I think after what happened I won’t exactly be welcomed well in the halls,” Lelouch pursed his lips. 

Ohgi was a kind leader, but surely after his stunt, they were going to get kicked out of the base. 

“It will be fine,” Gino promised, giving him one last reassuring look before heading out of the room. 

Lelouch sighed, already knowing the result of the impending meeting. Nothing Gino was going to say or do was going to change their minds, and when Gino returns with the bad news, he wasn’t going to be surprised. 

A small black box peeked out from under the bed, and the raven pulled it out and dropped it on the duvet, recognising the familiar case. 

When he unlocked the case to reveal its contents, his suspicion was only proven right. 

“Refrain,” Lelouch whispered, taking the injector in his hands and examining the device, locking in a fresh vial of the drug. 

The infamous drug was heavily covered in the news before the apocalypse, rumoured to allow the users to forget traumatic memories, instead planting memories of the better times when they last felt happiness. Inevitably, it has led to the destruction of many, ruining far too many lives to count. It tore apart families, drove those who used it to addiction and overdoses. 

Back then, Lelouch didn’t understand why it appealed so much to the public, and it was only now that he truly understood. 

He started to wonder if it was true. 

What if he _could_ forget? 

Lelouch swallowed the lump in his throat, recalling the memory vividly. Remembering how Nunnally laid still, how he was never going to hear her sweet voice again, how he was never going to receive another one of her delicately crafted paper cranes again. 

At the thought, he remembered the one she made him the other day, and he pulled it out of his back pocket. He frowned, noting it looked less of a crane and more a mere crumpled piece of paper. The raven desperately tried to fix it, but it didn’t make much of a difference, and he dropped his head. 

Nunnally was gone. 

He had no more purpose. 

There was no point to his existence. 

“Live a life of blissful ignorance, huh?” Lelouch bit his lip, “Let’s see what you can do.” 

His gaze locked on to the vials of _Refrain_ , and he picked up the metal device, injecting it through his skin without a second thought. The slight prick did not faze him, and he pushed the syringe, allowing the addictive liquid to run through his veins. 

The traumatic memories of Nunnally’s death slipped through his cognisance, becoming nothing but a faraway afterthought tucked in the back of his mind, and pictures of her limp body against the wall was instead replaced with her unending smiles as she tended to her garden at Ashford. He found Sayoko waving at them from the patio of the student council building, and Suzaku running towards them with that signature smile of his, carrying a watering can for Nunnally. 

After that, everything faded into nothingness. 


	14. RULE #13: NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN

“…and that’s how we escaped Costco with not only twenty boxes of pizza, but _also_ three roast chickens.” 

The redhead at the backseat folded her arms, “That’s totally not what happened-“ 

Amber eyes glared at the other girl through the rear-view mirror. “Care to enlighten what I missed?” 

“Yeah,” Kallen huffed, “You insisted on grabbing toilet paper but the packaging was too damn huge so you ended up stuck at the door while trying to get away from the zombies.” She chuckled to herself. “You nearly _died_ because of toilet paper.” 

“ _Ugh,_ you didn’t need to bring that up!” 

“Of course I had to-“ 

Suzaku sighed, _loudly_. “Will you two _stop fighting_ like an old married couple?!” Another second of their arguments in this car ride from hell and Suzaku was sure to explode. He figured out soon after the car ride started that attempting to tune them out was virtually impossible and he had the misfortune of being stuck with both their _unending_ complaints. 

Kallen raised her hand, counting, “Not old, _certainly_ not married, and do you want to clarify on the couple part, C.C.?” 

“Ah, of course, let me see,” C.C. narrowed her eyes, “Oh right! You left me to die in a zombie infested prison! So, unfortunately for _you_ , we’re the _farthest_ thing from a couple. You’re my _arch enemy!”_

“Wow, that’s harsh,” Kallen sighed. “I thought you were dead, okay? I didn’t know what else to think.” 

“Sorry to ruin your dramatic moment,” Suzaku interrupted, squinting at the signs ahead, “But where are we going?” He pointed at the intersection ahead, pulling into a stop. 

C.C. looked up, “Turn left, and you should find a gate. Park right before that so we can walk the rest of the way. We should be there soon.” 

Suzaku followed her instructions, parking the car by the side of the road. He shut off the engine and shoved the key in his pocket, picking up his backpack from the backseat and slinging it over his shoulder. “Let’s go!” 

“Hold your horses,” C.C. finally got out of the car, jogging to get to where Suzaku and Kallen were standing. “I think something’s wrong.” 

Kallen’s blue eyes softened, “What’s up?” 

The green-haired girl surveyed their surroundings, eyes squinting to assess the other side of the gate. “There’s no one here. Isn’t that odd?” 

Suzaku shrugged. “I mean, if they didn’t want people to come here, it’s no surprise, isn’t it? Is there like a secret underground entrance or something?” 

“Funny you should ask,” C.C. walked ahead of them, mindful of the zombies that were slowly approaching them. “I think it’s around here…” She slipped through one of the garden hedges, the exposed twigs scratching her skin. C.C. pushed aside the dried leaves and shrubbery, revealing a worn-down door. “Aha!” 

Kallen widened her eyes. “No way. This is straight out of a movie!” She laughed. “Any secret codes or moving bookcases?” 

Suzaku rolled his eyes, helping C.C. take the rest of the blockage out of the way, erupting a loud creak from the door when they opened it. 

C.C. lifted a finger to her lips, “We need to go down these stairs. Be as quiet as you can.” She led the way, going down the cobblestone steps slowly. 

It was eerily quiet, and Suzaku was sure they could hear a pin drop. Nonetheless, he followed the girls, trailing behind them and gripped the hilt of his katana tighter. 

At the end of the steps was a long hallway with no sign of life. The lights above them flickered dangerously, basking them in darkness every now and then. 

“Anyone else think this is creepy as shit?” Kallen muttered quietly. 

C.C. silence her with a glare, and they continued on the maze of empty hallways until they heard a loud _bang_ from behind one of the doors. She peeped through the small round window, covering her mouth and widening her eyes as she retreated back quickly, with a look of pure horror. 

“What’s wrong?” Kallen demanded, heading for the small window herself, but C.C. had gripped her wrist and kept her back. 

“Zombies. All of them,” C.C. whispered, her hands shaking. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. Everyone who went to this facility was supposed to be _safe_!” 

There was another bang, which they’ve now identified as a zombie or two hitting the door repeatedly. 

Groans erupted from the other end of the hallway, and Suzaku pointed at the undead with an alarmed expression, trying not to make a noise. 

C.C. and Kallen stood quietly, and they started going back the way they came. The zombies behind the door had bumped into the door again, catching the attention of the zombies at the end of the hall, and they broke into a run. 

“Shit shit shit,” Kallen yelled, “Run faster!” 

They finally made it back up the stairs, thankfully not running into anymore zombies than the ones chasing them. C.C. burst through the door and waited for Kallen and Suzaku to get out before slamming it shut. 

Suzaku eyed a fallen tree trunk close by, “Kallen, help me drag this over the door!” 

She nodded, and they pulled on the heavy log until it rested over the beaten down door. 

“We need to go!” C.C. yelled. 

“How about Lelouch and Nunnally?” 

Kallen stopped, looking back at him with an apologetic expression, “Suzaku, Nunnally’s gone. There was an accident at the base, and she fell down the stairs…” 

“She… _what?_ ” Suzaku stumbled back, “Nunnally’s dead?” 

C.C. grabbed the both of them, pushing them back to the car, “I don’t know where Gino’s brought Lelouch, but I don’t think they were ever here. We need to _leave_. _Now!_ ” 

But Suzaku was frozen and found he couldn’t will his legs to move. 

“ _Move, Kururugi!_ ” Kallen screamed. 

He wanted to give up. The world was never fair on Nunnally and this was far from what she deserved. The younger Lamperouge sibling was gentle… the kindest, most selfless person that he had ever met. Nunnally deserved to survive. She deserved to see the end of this disaster and help make the world a better place. 

His thoughts drifted to memories with Nunnally, helping her with her little flower patch at the back of their Ashford home, teaching him how to make paper cranes (not that he ever got it right, it seemed). 

_“Promise me something, Suzaku,”_ Lelouch’s voice popped into his head and his smile was suddenly all he could see, “ _Live.”_

Suzaku snapped himself out of his daze, finding himself being screamed at by C.C. and Kallen alike. The zombies had broken down the door but were held back by the log, and more of the undead approached them from all directions. He blinked, grabbing the keys out of his pocket and running to the car. 

“Kururugi!” 

They stopped in their tracks, turning to the source of the voice. When they recognised the man with fiery auburn hair, running towards them at full force. 

“Run, run!” Suzaku urged the girls, getting them into the car and slamming the driver’s door shut. He jammed the key in and started the car, stepping on the accelerator as hard as he could. 

“Who the hell is that?” Kallen asked, wedged between the passenger and driver’s seat, eyeing the stranger curiously. 

“Someone you don’t want to mess with,” Suzaku twisted the steering wheel to turn back, “He’s the guy that kicked us out of Ashford. I didn’t think he was still alive!” 

With the crazy number of zombies that overrun Ashford that day, it truly was surprising. A very unpleasant surprise. 

“Honestly, I think you guys deserve a medal of surviving an encounter with Luciano Bradley in itself,” C.C. said in a bored tone. “He’s the most ruthless Knight of the Round. That’s what I’ve heard from the others anyway.” 

“He’s shooting at us!” Kallen screamed, ducking her head. 

The bullets cracked the windscreen, and they could hear the sound of its collision with the metal body of the car. 

Suzaku once more tried to floor the car but was instead stuck in place. “I think he got one of the tyres!” 

“This is not good,” C.C. noted. 

“Yeah, gee thanks!” Suzaku rolled his eyes. “Hand over a gun.” 

Kallen unzipped the duffel bag for the firearms and handed him one as instructed. “He’s just one person. Surely, we can take him, right?” 

“Only one way to find out!” Suzaku opened his door, immediately ducking behind the car to seek cover from the shots. 

“Suzaku, you idiot!” C.C. yelled, frustrated. “Ever heard of setting up a plan first?” 

Suzaku peered through the window, finding an opening and shooting at the Britannian. 

Luciano dodged them easily and took cover behind one of the other cars. He jumped back up and started shooting nonstop, and Suzaku started running in a zig zag motion to get Luciano to use up all his bullets. 

He stopped for a moment to reload his ammunition, ducking back into cover, and Suzaku used the opportunity to vault over the obstacles between them, willing himself to run as fast as he possibly could. 

Suzaku slid over the car that Luciano used for cover, kicking his weapon away from him. 

C.C. and Kallen hopped out of the car towards them, both with very angry expressions (and very likely, lengthy lectures) that Suzaku was sure to cop later on. 

Distracted, Suzaku was able to restrain Luciano and he kept him pinned to the ground. 

“Where’s your pretty boyfriend?” 

Green eyes narrowed dangerously, “That’s none of your concern.” 

“Ah, but it is,” Luciano chuckled darkly, “He’s the reason why my team is _dead_.” 

“You took our resources from us!” Suzaku yelled. “And when we offered to sacrifice everything if you just spared our lives, you wouldn’t let us! The death of your team is on _your hands_ ,” He spat out venomously. 

_If this man hadn’t taken Ashford from them, Nunnally would have still been alive_ , Suzaku thought bitterly. 

“We weren’t after your resources, Kururugi. I really thought you’d get it by now, but it seems you’re as dense as you look,” Luciano tried to get out of Suzaku’s grasp but couldn’t, so he opted to stay still. “Our mission was to take Lelouch back here, but instead, because of your little stunt, we failed, and I haven’t found you since. I thought today was my lucky day, but it seems you’ve hidden the precious prince.” 

“You would think the Knights of the Round had better coordination than this,” C.C. raised an eyebrow, “Lelouch has been with Gino for weeks now. Shouldn’t _you_ know that?” 

“Gino? Gino’s been dead since last year! He went on that mission with Anya and neither of them came back.” 

“No, he’s definitely alive,” Suzaku sighed, keeping his grip on the squirming Britannian. Seeing this, Kallen approached the Britannian and cuffed his hands with zip tie. “And definitely with Lelouch,” he stood up, dusting his hands. 

Luciano rolled his eyes as he slumped against the car, hands behind his back. “You’ve all got to be kidding me. There’s no way. Even if Gino _was_ alive and had Lelouch, our instructions were to bring him here, and I haven’t seen any sign of them.” He looked up as if to gesture their empty surroundings. 

“They aren’t here,” C.C. agreed, “Gino might have realised that this place was overrun and ran the other way. They did have a couple of hours head start. Honestly, who knows?” 

“The underground base can’t be overrun. It was made specifically for this. Everyone on the list was meant to be spared,” Luciano looked at them with a perplexed expression, which quickly turned into annoyance. “ _What_?” He asked with narrowed eyes. __

“Luciano, how long have you been here?” Kallen asked. “Haven’t you seen the state of the base?” 

The Britannian blinked. “No, I didn’t want to return until I have completed my mission…” 

“See those zombies over there,” Kallen pointed, “They’re all coming from the base entrance. It’s over. Nowhere is safe. You may think we’re bullshitting you, but I’m more than happy to send you over there to see for yourself.” 

“Hold that thought,” C.C. raised a hand. “I think I know where they might be heading. There’s another base that was set up as a backup. It’s quite possible that some of them were able to relocate.” She paced back and forth, “It’s a couple of hours from here so if we move now, we should get there in a day or two.” 

Considering the number of cars likely on the road heading away from the city, it made unfortunate sense. There were many times where they had to manually push the cars off the road just for them to pass, and sometimes, the highways were so heavily congested there was no room to move them to, which made it a bit more challenging. In those situations, they either hot-wired another car (at this point, Suzaku was a hot wire aficionado, though still guilty whenever he had to do it) or go another route if possible. Either way, it took too much time, which they were most definitely getting less off as each minute ticked by. 

Gino was all but a mystery to them, and they didn’t know what he was going to do next. 

“C.C. keep your eye on Luciano,” Suzaku sighed, “Kallen, fend off the zombies. I’ll work on the tyre.” 

“Why am I stuck with him?” C.C. whined. 

“Suck it up, C.C.” 

“Now you’re just being as mean as Kallen,” she folded her arms, leaning against one of the nearby cars. 

“Hey, I heard that!” Kallen called out, turning back to give C.C. a raised eyebrow before diverting her attention back on the approaching zombies. “Any day now, Suzaku!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it.” 


	15. RULE #14: DON'T FALL FOR BLOND BOYS WITH PRETTY BLUE EYES

“I thought you’d be better than this.” 

Sharp blue eyes regarded the charcoal haired Britannian, sitting atop a milk crate and gazing listlessly ahead. His once intelligent violet eyes were now a dull shade of purple, lacking the strong sense of meaning and purpose that used to fill them. 

Of course, the raven didn’t respond. 

Instead, he smiled fondly, eyes watering slightly as he raised his arm as if to reach out for something. “Ah, another crane, Nunnally? I think it looks wonderful. Don’t you think so, Suzaku?” He tilted his head, waiting for his imaginary boyfriend’s response. 

“You know, the emperor always spoke so highly of you,” Gino huffed, getting up and reaching for his duffel bag, where he took out the Refrain injector and loaded another vial. He checked his watch briefly, before sighing and piercing through Lelouch’s pale skin. “I really don’t see what the hype is about. I mean, I had to play along for a pretty long time, but I always get what I want and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get it.” 

The blond Britannian sat back down, leaning against the rundown car behind him. “Shall I do my great reveal? My _grand scheme_?” He smirked, then frowned when he found Lelouch standing and wandering aimlessly. “Sit back down,” he rolled his eyes, following the raven and pushing him back on his seat. 

“Ah, where to begin?” Gino tapped his chin, “I guess it started about a year ago. Bismarck assigned Anya and I on a mission to contain the zombies in Eastern Pendragon. It got out of hand quickly, and we didn’t anticipate so many in the location. I saw an opportunity and took it,” he chuckled darkly, “Poor sweet Anya was willing to sacrifice her life to save mine, and it worked all too well.” 

“She captured all of the zombies’ attention and they laid off me, so I got away.” He shrugged lazily, “I never reported back to the Knights of the Round and we were both presumed dead.” 

He waited for a response but wasn’t surprised to find none. 

“Why, you ask?” Gino waved his hand, “I didn’t like Charles. I never did. I joined the Knights of the Round in the foolish hope that I can make my own changes in the Britannian empire, but I was gravely mistaken. I wasn’t ever going to be taken seriously. I was nothing but an errand boy, doing whatever they wanted me to do, whenever they needed it. I needed out, so I crafted a plan to make sure _I win_.” 

“I faked my own death to get out of the Knights of the Round and get the ball rolling for my plan. I sought out for you during the apocalypse, and you can bet I thought I was the luckiest man in the _planet_ when I found you!” He chuckled lowly, “But of course, you had Suzaku and Nunnally with you, and we couldn’t have that, can’t we?” 

He stretched his arms, folding them behind his head, “So I had to get rid of them somehow. I overheard the conversation between Suzaku and Nunnally, and of course, as you know, I dropped you a little hint. Not long after,” Gino raised two fingers, and retracted one, “That’s one down.” 

“Nunnally was the harder one. I needed to earn your trust so that you’d follow me where I needed you to go, but you seemed to have your plans set on getting to that island, then of course, I didn’t anticipate that there would be people inhabiting that base. _Tch_. What a nuisance.” 

He picked up the gun laying on the ground beside him, disassembling the firearm and resting the different components in front of him. From his bag, he took out a couple of pieces of cloth and a bottle of oil. “We were staying at that base for far too long, so I had to do something to get moving again. But then Villetta started suspecting me and had found the project documents for the Geass Order in the military archives.” He clenched his fists, “That was annoying. In the end, I had no choice but to eliminate her and get rid of the evidence I was ever involved with the Knights of the Round in case _you_ found them.” 

“I had to move quickly before anyone else suspected anything. When I saw Nunnally at the top of those stairs with no one around? I took that chance.” He oiled the springs and cleared the barrel, completing the process as he had a thousand times before. “I pushed her down the stairs and with Lady Luck smiling down upon me that day, that was the end of her.” 

“I thought, _surely_ after your stunt, they would have to kick us out! We’d have no choice but to seek shelter elsewhere,” Gino bit his lip so hard it drew blood, “But of course, that stupid Ohgi apparently decided to _give you another chance_. Another chance!” He flailed his arms in frustration, “So I had to do some convincing. I told them you were dangerous, _unstable_ … and in a way, you were going to be if you found the Refrain I purposefully left in that room for you to find and _use_. Thankfully, you didn’t disappoint, Lelouch. You gave into the temptation, didn’t you? Your sanity for blissful ignorance… how does that make you feel?” He chuckled darkly. 

“So now we’re on to the last phase of my plan,” the former Knight of the Round announced, “I let a couple of zombies in the base, effectively getting rid of those moronic Britannians that are loyal to Charles zi Britannia. We can’t have them in our new world, Lelouch. They’d never agree to anything and they’d put up a fight!” 

“That’s right,” Gino smiled maliciously, an evil glint flashing in his eyes, “ _Our_ new world. With you as the remaining rightful heir to the Britannian throne, you will take the seat of power. But of course, with all that Refrain running through your system, you won’t even be aware of what’s happening. Not to fear, my emperor, for that is why I’m here.” 

“I will carry out your instructions for this new world, and together, we will not make the mistake of our ancestors. We will build the perfect world, and those that oppose us can easily be tossed aside to the zombies as fodder.” 

“Then when civilisation has picked up again, I’ll have you carry out an order too evil… so malicious, that _I,_ as your most noble knight, can’t possibly execute! We can’t have a demon emperor leading the new civilisation, and I must surely put an end to it,” Gino reassembled the firearm, firing the gun with no bullet to check if the pieces were placed in completely. “With my deepest sorrow and regret, I’d have to execute you, demon emperor, and the world will once again be safe.” 

“Eh, what do you think?” Gino nudged the raven, who only fell out of balance and dropped to the ground. “You are my most dangerous weapon. My perfect _puppet_ … ah, I can’t wait.” 

He checked his watch and up at the setting sun, “I’m afraid we need to turn in for the night. We only have a couple of miles to go and we need to leave as soon as we can in the morning.” 

Lelouch dropped his head, mindlessly staring at his hands. “You have to stop giving me paperwork, Milly. This isn’t fair!” 

Gino shook his head, helping the raven up and getting him into the motel room they had just ransacked. He checked and made sure they left no trace outside, before shutting the door behind him. 

There was no rest for the wicked. 


	16. RULE #15: PEOPLE ARE ENEMIES TOO

It seemed clear that Gino was also using a car of some sort, as most of the road on the way to C.C.’s propose destination has been cleared one way or another. It was also the quickest and most efficient way to get there, so it was really the only option. 

When they encountered a traffic congestion that wasn’t cleared, they stopped for the night, waiting in the shadows for any sign of life. 

They took turns keeping watch, grateful the area wasn’t littered with too many zombies. It took Suzaku a couple of attempts to sleep, as despite the distinct lack of the groaning undead, he stayed up, thinking of Lelouch and Nunnally. 

Eventually, the rays of the morning light nudged Suzaku awake, and he found C.C. sitting cross legged on the ground equipped with a pair of binoculars and munching on a granola bar. 

“Morning,” Suzaku yawned, rubbing his eyes in a feeble attempt to energise himself. “Any news?” 

“Not yet…” C.C. admitted, frowning. She dropped the binoculars on her lap with a sigh of defeat, tossing a pack of the same granola bar at his direction. 

“They have no choice but to pass through here,” Suzaku spoke softly, mindful that Kallen was still asleep. “So, they’re bound to come up eventually.” He smiled in an attempt to lift her spirits, but it seemed that it was more for himself. He unwrapped the packet and gulfed it down. 

The drive has been terribly exhausting, and they moved nonstop until they got to this point just to make sure they caught up with them. The sinking feeling that they could be wrong crept within him, demanding to be felt, but he hastily pushed it aside. 

Movement was caught in his peripheral vision, and his head whipped to that direction, squinting when he saw something approaching them from the distance. “That’s a car!” 

Suzaku’s overjoyed announcement woke the sleeping redhead who had emerged from her sleeping bag, glaring at the brunet with an intent to _kill_. “This better be good, Kururugi.” 

“It’s them!” C.C. was on the binoculars again, looking back at her two companions with an expression of utmost joy. “Stay down, they’re approaching fast.” 

They all ducked simultaneously, carefully hidden behind a delivery truck that had toppled on its side. 

“Okay, here’s the plan,” C.C. threw a hesitant look of worry at Suzaku’s direction as they all huddled in a small circle, “Which we’re all going to follow, right, _Suzaku?_ ” 

The brunet dropped his head, “Yeah, yeah.” 

“Good. Don’t go solo again,” Kallen warned with a dangerous glint in her blue eyes. 

Suzaku smiled guiltily, “I promise.” 

“So,” C.C. started again, “We’ll wait until he’s off his guard. Probably when he parks the vehicle and gets out to start moving the cars. One of us will have to keep the zombies away, as I’m sure we’re bound to attract a lot of noise soon, another will go after Lelouch, and one has to deal with Gino.” 

“Can I call dibs on beating Gino’s ass?” Suzaku raised a hand. 

“I think that’s more than fair…” C.C. noted, checking with Kallen, who nodded. “I’ll deal with the zombies and you can go check on Lelouch, Kallen. I haven’t met him before… so it might be best that someone familiar approaches him.” 

“Alright,” Kallen grabbed the weapon bag, handing everyone a gun each. 

Suzaku prepared the firearm, keeping it close. He also made sure that his sheath was properly attached around his waist, and when he’d done so, he motioned for them to start moving closer. 

They heard a car door open and shut, and they prepared themselves to get into position. 

C.C. raised her fingers, counting _one… two…_

There was a gunshot, and they all stumbled back as it was so close, _too_ close for their liking. 

“You really think you can sneak up on a Knight of the Round like that? You’ve got some nerve,” Gino spoke loudly, his words freezing them all. 

Suzaku sighed, annoyed at the situation they were in. He stood, not caring the faintest about the possible consequences. 

“Ah, Suzaku, how good to see you again,” Gino smirked, leaning against the blue car he drove. 

The brunet could see Lelouch inside the vehicle, though his vision wasn’t really clear. He felt C.C. and Kallen behind him, and he inched closer to the blond Britannian. 

“I really can’t say the same for you, Knight of Three.” 

Gino shrugged, flicking his braid to his back. “Alas my secret has been revealed. I _was_ the former Knight of Three, but I disobeyed orders and I stand here as Prince Lelouch’s protector… and lover.” A glint of mischief flashed in Gino’s eyes as he said those last words, and anger bubbled inside him. 

Suzaku clenched his fists, “Like hell you are!” 

“Lelouch is here at his own volition, Suzaku, whether that’s what you wanted to hear or not. Frankly, I don’t care what you think,” Gino narrowed his eyes. “Now get out of our way. We need to get going.” 

“No-“ 

“Do you see Lelouch getting out of the car for _you_ , Suzaku?” Gino raised an eyebrow, challenging him. “He doesn’t care for you anymore. You being here doesn’t make a difference.” 

Suzaku ignored him, and he instead directed his full attention at the raven in the passenger seat. He still hadn’t moved, and Suzaku was worried Gino had done something to immobilise him. 

Gino sighed, unlocking the car door and helping Lelouch out of the vehicle. He leaned in close to the raven, whispering in his ear, before retreating with a soft smile. Lelouch closed the gap between them, shutting his eyes and smiling into the kiss. 

“Lelouch?” Suzaku took a couple more steps forward, his legs shaking and threatening his collapse. 

“Please leave us,” Lelouch spoke quietly, his voice low and almost unidentifiable. Suzaku’s brows furrowed, noticing immediately how dull his eyes were. 

The taller Britannian wrapped his arm around the raven with a lazy smile, “Believe me now?” 

“What’s wrong with him?” Kallen demanded. “He wasn’t like this when he left the base the other day.” She stepped forward so she was in line with Suzaku, and she glared at him with an accusatory look. “Lelouch, come with us.” Kallen raised a hand, inviting the raven to join them. 

The prince only stared at her outstretched hand like she’s grown a second head, stepping back and taking cover behind Gino. “I want to stay with Gino. He saved me. He’s my knight.” 

“Is that enough for you, Kururugi?” 

Suzaku flinched, loosening his hold on his weapons. “I-“ 

“You’ve dosed him with Refrain, haven’t you?” Kallen yelled angrily. “I lived most of my life with my mother taking it and she used to act just like this,” she gestured at Lelouch’s figure, “Like… like some brainwashed doll!” 

Gino’s expression turned to one of annoyance, “I tried to let you all out the easy way, but it seems you just want to make it so much harder on yourselves.” 

C.C. hummed, assessing Lelouch. “He seems to have really limited depth perception too. I think you’re right, Kallen.” 

Fuelled with rage, Suzaku ran towards the Britannian, jumping and delivering a spinning kick to knock Gino’s gun away. He quickly drew his own firearm, ready to squeeze the trigger, when the taller male grabs his wrist and forces it upwards. 

Suzaku grunted, using his free arm to throw a left straight punch to his nose, loosening the Britannian’s grip on his wrist. The brunet pistol whipped the other male, causing him to stagger slightly. Blood dripped from his nose and the wounds on his face, and Gino directed a glare towards him. 

With shortened breaths, Suzaku directed the gun, aiming for his head. 

It didn’t take long for Gino to recover from the blow, and he rolled forward, gripping a rusty metal pipe, smashing Suzaku’s wrist. Satisfaction was blatantly obvious on Gino’s face as they heard the distinct sound of bones crushing. 

He screamed as he stumbled backwards, dropping his gun. Gino eyed the firearm, kicking it as far back as he could to prevent Suzaku from taking it again. 

“Kallen, _gun!_ ” Suzaku yelled, and the redhead scrambled for the weapon. 

A scream erupted from the green-haired girl and Suzaku whipped his head to the source of the noise, finding her surrounded by zombies. He nodded at Kallen once, and she went to help fend off the undead. 

Momentarily distracted, Gino used the opportunity to charge at Suzaku. Green eyes detected the peripheral movement in the corner of his sight, and he drew his katana from its sheath, swiping at the Britannian. 

Gino dropped to the ground, swinging his leg out to sweep Suzaku’s feet off the asphalt. The brunet fell backwards, using his arms to break his fall. He had forgotten his wrist was severely injured, and he yelped out in pain, curling into a ball. Suzaku clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly, anxiously waiting for the pain to pass. 

The former Knight of Three approached with heavy footsteps, lifting the metal pipe up in the air and swung it down at him, and Suzaku widened his eyes, rolling to his side and getting up haggardly. 

“I’m out of bullets!” Kallen yelled frantically, shooting a gun with no more ammunition. The clicking sound hung in the air as more zombies approached them. Their ammunition bag was too far from them, and they didn’t have the luxury of time. 

“Take this!” Suzaku sheathed his katana, locking the blade before throwing it at the panicked redhead. 

“I don’t know how to use this!” She shrieked, staring blankly at the blade. 

“Just do what Suzaku does and keep swiping! You’re bound to hit a zombie,” C.C. called out. 

Gino swung the pipe again, aiming for his head, and Suzaku ducked, running behind the Britannian and delivering a front kick, driving the blond male forward. 

“Want to know something?” Gino grimaced, wiping the blood off his face with the back of his hand, “He took it all by himself,” he bared his teeth. 

“No,” Suzaku defended the raven immediately, “Lelouch would never-“ 

“Whether you believe me or not doesn’t change the truth,” he smirked, crouching low and eyes vigilant for Suzaku’s next move. 

“Suzaku, look out!” C.C. screamed, “Behind you!” 

The brunet whirled around just in time. The zombie latched on to him, its rotten stench filling his nostrils with disgust. Black goo emerged from the zombie’s mouth, dripping onto Suzaku’s arms and staining his clothes. He tried to keep as much distance between them, using his arms to drive him away, but with no weapon on him or in sight, this was the only thing he could do. 

Kallen ran to him, swiping the katana and cleanly slicing its head off, and Suzaku let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks,” he breathed heavily, blinking rapidly. 

“Don’t mention it!” Kallen ran back to her post with C.C., clearly getting a better hang of the new weapon. 

Green eyes spotted the other firearm lying on the ground, and Suzaku stumbled towards it, using his non-injured hand to pick it up. Suzaku turned back to his opponent, and his face fell. 

Gino stood a couple of feet away from him, his lean arm around Lelouch’s slender neck and pulling a switchblade from his pocket, holding it dangerously close to Lelouch’s skin. 

“Drop the gun or Lelouch dies,” Gino threatened, pressing the blade against the raven’s neck and drawing blood. 

Suzaku immediately dropped the firearm, raising both his hands in the air to surrender. “Don’t you _dare_ hurt him.” 

Gino scoffed, “You say that as if you _can_ do something about it.” 

Green eyes scanned their surroundings, and he started to lose hope. C.C. and Kallen were still preoccupied with keeping the zombies away as more of them keeps coming. Suzaku wasn’t close enough to inflict damage on Gino, not before he could slice Lelouch’s neck and leave him to bleed to death. 

“Long… live… Britannia!” A voice yelled with heavy breaths behind them, and a gunshot filled the air. 

Blood seeped through Gino’s torso, and Suzaku wasted no time in running forward and getting Lelouch to safety. He pulled on his pale bony hand, dragging him away from the Britannian. 

Suzaku watched Luciano Bradley with a pleased smirk fall to his knees and succumb to the virus, turning into the undead before his eyes and wandering away with not another care in the world. He spotted the bite mark on his shoulder, indicating how he was infected. 

The brunet shook his head, sure that he cuffed the Knight of Ten to a car in front of the overrun military base, but he must have found a way to escape. 

“Let’s go!” Suzaku yelled at the two girls, who turned towards him with relief when they found Lelouch with him. 

They both nodded, dropping their positions and running for the car. With the broken wrist, Suzaku was sure he wouldn’t be able to drive, so Suzaku fished the keys out of his pocket and tossed it to Kallen, who caught it perfectly and unlocked the vehicle. He shoved Lelouch in the backseat and followed him inside, shutting the door behind him just as a zombie smashed against the window, smearing blood and black ooze in its wake. 

They heard Gino’s screams as the zombies circled him and didn’t wait for them to drown out before Kallen pulled out of the park and slammed on the accelerator to get away from there as quickly as possible and back to their base. 

“Where are you taking me?” Lelouch demanded, pushing Suzaku away. “Take me back! _Take me back!”_

“You’re safe now, Lelouch,” Suzaku smiled softly, caressing the raven’s cheeks. 

Lelouch shoved his hand away and the brunet winced, realising it was his injured hand. “I don’t need you. I only need Gino. Gino saved me. Gino is my knight. Gino-“ 

“Gino has done nothing but hurt you!” Kallen gritted through her teeth from the driver’s seat. “Can’t you see that?” 

C.C. cleared her throat and everyone’s eyes were on her. “It’s no surprise. I’m sure as Gino frequently supplied Lelouch with refrain, he’s grown dependent on it and is under the delusion that Gino _did_ save him. We need to isolate him for a couple of days when we get to the base, and make sure he stays far, _far_ away from any more Refrain.” 

Suzaku frowned but didn’t say anything else. 

For the rest of the drive home, Lelouch complained and struggled, but no one paid him any attention, too exhausted from the fight to retort and try to get things straight. He fought as much as he could, until he lost all his energy and drifted to sleep. 

Suzaku tucked Lelouch’s hair behind his ear as he slept, grateful they were finally together again. 

He wasn’t going to let go of him again. 


	17. RULE #16: KEEP THOSE YOU TRUST CLOSE

Lelouch’s head hurt. _A lot_. 

To top it all off, it didn’t help that this green-haired woman kept visiting him every single day and asking him too many questions. 

Amber irises watched him carefully, jotting down notes on her clipboard. The sound of her scribbling filled the otherwise empty room. 

“Who are you again?” 

“C.C.,” she repeated slowly, “I was a former medical researcher for the Britannian government. I’m trying to assist you in your drug detoxification.” 

_Ah, right_ . Lelouch vaguely recalled the stranger saying the exact same thing to him possibly a couple of days ago. He let out an exasperated sigh, pinching his nose bridge. 

“And I keep telling you all,” Lelouch scowled, “I’m not on any drugs-“ 

“There’s _Refrain_ in your system, Lelouch, and there’s no point in denying it,” C.C. grumbled, gripping her pen tightly. “Now, will you just answer the rest of my questions?” 

“Fine,” Lelouch folded his arms over his chest, leaning back in his seat. The sooner he answered her stupid questions, the sooner she’ll leave. 

“Good,” C.C. let out a breath in relief. “Are you still experiencing headaches?” 

The raven flicked his hair to the side, speaking quietly, “Yes.” Who didn’t have a headache every now and then? Granted, he’s been having them a lot more frequently in the past few days. 

The woman wrote something on her board. “Any trouble sleeping?” 

_Yes_ . “No.” 

C.C. raised an eyebrow, “I hope you realise I do have a good knack for telling if people are lying.” She tapped her chin with the pen, waiting for his response. 

“Sometimes,” Lelouch grumbled. 

“I’ve also been told you haven’t been eating.” 

“I-“ Now that he couldn’t even deny. He stared at the tray of food left untouched on the table, “I’m not hungry.” 

She sighed, “Well it would definitely be in your best interest if you tried to eat more, Lelouch.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” the former prince waved her off. “Are we done yet?” 

“Not quite,” A knock interrupted her, and she glared at the door. “But I’m afraid our session today is now over. You have a visitor.” 

“Is it Gino?” His eyes lit up, hopeful. An expression of confusion flashed through the medical researcher’s face, and despite brief, Lelouch caught on to it. “What?” 

“It appears you’ve been having issues with retaining your memory recently,” C.C. explained, scribbling on her board quickly, “It might have something to do with the amount of Refrain you’ve ingested in such a short timeframe.” 

Violet eyes narrowed, “I told you, I’m not on-“ 

She raised a hand, silencing him, “Gino’s dead, Lelouch.” 

“What?” Lelouch huffed, “No he isn’t-“ 

C.C. pushed her chair back as she stood, “Believe me or not, I don’t really care anymore.” She unlocked the door, letting Suzaku in and leaving without another word. 

“Hey Lelouch,” Suzaku greeted, taking the vacant seat in front of him. 

The charcoal-haired male frowned, whispering to himself, not even paying any attention to the newcomer, “Gino can’t be dead.” His hands shook violently, and he only stared at them. 

Suzaku’s expression was grim, but he remained silent, assessing Lelouch carefully. 

“Did you do it then?” Lelouch raised his head, narrowing his eyes and staring at Suzaku with an accusatory gaze. “Did you kill him?” 

The brunet licked his lips before sighing, his eyes tired and weary from lack of sleep, “We’ve gone through this before, Lelouch-“ 

  
“You haven’t answered my question,” Lelouch snapped, fists clenched to his sides. 

“Yes!” Suzaku yelled out, exasperated. “I left him to die. He hurt you, Lelouch. He took you away and made you dependent on him for Refrain. He killed so many people, _Nunnally included_ , and I can’t forgive him for that.” 

Lelouch laughed dryly, “No, he would never. Gino _saved_ us. He kept me away from my father’s knights! _You_ ,” he pointed a shaky finger at the Japanese male in front of him, “ _You’re_ the monster. You… you didn’t tell me Nunnally was going to… wanting to…” he squeezed his eyes shut. 

“I’m sorry, Lelouch. I can’t apologise enough for what happened. I think about it every night and it _haunts_ me.” Green eyes were wide and full of remorse, “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me. I know that’s asking for too much. I just want you to get better, and you can’t get better unless you want to.” His voice cracked, sounding like a broken record. “You need to eat, take your medicine,” Suzaku was practically begging at this point. “ _Please_ , Lelouch. Nunnally wouldn’t have wanted for you to end up like this and you know it.” 

At the sound of Nunnally’s name, Lelouch flinched, looking away and instead focusing his gaze on the concreted floor. 

“What do you want me to do?” Suzaku asked quietly, staring at his twiddling thumbs. 

“Just leave,” Lelouch replied coldly. 

Suzaku sighed, standing with dejection. “If that’s what you want.” Green eyes spotted the tray of untouched food, making Suzaku frown. Nonetheless, he said nothing about it and left the room. 

He heard the lock outside the door click shut and the raven fell on his knees, feeling an odd sense of hollowness in his chest when he was once again alone. 

Memories flashed in his head like a movie reel. His head hurt a lot more when it did, but the memories usually flashed too quickly, and he never had the time to _really_ see them. Something about these memories were different though, and it played in slow motion. In it, he watched as Gino injected Refrain in his system, _using_ him while he was dull and vulnerable from the drug. 

_No,_ Lelouch shook his head. _This isn’t real_. 

He could hear his smug voice, explaining his _grand plan_ or whatever he called it. 

The raven froze, recalling Gino’s words, though still hazy and incomplete. 

A stabbing pain erupted in his head and he winced, pulling on his hair in an attempt to alleviate it. It didn’t help, and in all honesty, it probably just made it worse. 

_Gino used him._

Lelouch dropped his head, now noticing the miniscule pricks in his arm – the final proof he needed. 

_How could he let this happen?_ __

_How could he be so naïve?_

_Why did he allow himself to be so vulnerable?_

His chest was tight when he recalled how he had been treated Suzaku these past few days. The brunet he had known to be cheerful at all times was so crestfallen, and he had never seen Suzaku so… discouraged. 

And it was all his fault. 

The former prince was ridden with guilt, and the pit of his stomach lurched. 

Lelouch’s gaze darted to the tray of food and he walked towards it, using the fork to poke at the dish. 

He was going to get better for Nunnally and for Suzaku. 

He owed them that much. 


	18. RULE #17: BREATHE

Suzaku stopped visiting Lelouch. 

It was under C.C.’s request that he gave Lelouch some distance seeing as Suzaku’s presence seemed to make the former prince incredibly agitated and aggressive. 

Of course, Suzaku protested. In fact – he whined nonstop, but it seemed C.C. had mastered the art of ignoring the brunet completely. 

“If you want him to get better, give him time. I assure you that he’s in capable hands.” Amber eyes didn’t leave the test tube she was examining. “Why don’t you go join that mission to take those Britannians in that bunker to safety? I’m sure they’ll appreciate the help.” 

“But-“ 

“Suzaku,” C.C. sighed, finally glancing up at him. “Lelouch will be fine. I promise.” 

Dejected, the brunet nodded, before turning on his heel and leaving the lab. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he roamed the halls, his spirits dropping every second that Lelouch wasn’t his old self. 

He did end up volunteering for the mission, much to Ohgi’s complete and utter joy, as they were desperate for them, but no one was willing to step forward and brace the streets with the walking undead. 

Suzaku frowned when he heard that, as they did have a considerable amount of people that’s come to the base for safety. 

“Don’t worry about it, Suzaku,” Ohgi smiled in that same genuine way he always did, “Everyone plays a part when they come here and if fighting isn’t their thing, then it isn’t fair to force it on them. There’s lots of other jobs on the base.” 

_True,_ Suzaku thought, feeling himself calm down immediately. They had a lot more people on patrol with shorter shifts, so they always stayed alert and ready, some tended to their makeshift farms, some continued to clear the rest of the base fully, and several others manned the radio station that Lelouch designed and set up. 

This new safe haven was shaping up a lot better than the previous one, and it was clear that Ohgi’s leadership was central to that success. 

“How’s Lelouch doing?” Ohgi asked, his voice wavered slightly, and Suzaku could practically sense how uncomfortable he was for asking the question. 

He frowned, not too sure how to respond, but managing to string some words together, “He’s getting there.” 

“I hope he gets better soon.” 

“Yeah,” Suzaku sighed, “Me too.” 

*** 

The mission helped distract Suzaku. 

It was a couple of weeks in the making and those involved no longer knew the meaning of a proper rest, but it was finally _over_. 

Stubborn as they were, the Britannians that huddled in their precious bunker were reluctant in following them. Blatantly refusing to believe that the other base had fallen and that they had no choice. 

They were low on resources and yet they still wouldn’t budge. 

As such, they stayed for about a week, trying to convince them otherwise. There were too many times that Kallen huffed as they left the negotiations, threatening to just leave them behind to die. 

Suzaku liked to think that it was only the stress talking and that Kallen wasn’t truly considering that option. 

He did end up drafting up a somewhat workable plan, telling them that a Britannian _prince_ resided in the base. Thankfully, when he brought that up, the people who seemed be in charge had _finally_ started listening. 

In the end, they agreed to come, and in return for their safe harbour, they were to contribute to the base like all the other survivors. 

There was no room for toxic superiority traits from the old world, and they were warned of this from the start. Break the rules and they would be kicked out with no hesitation. 

They managed to locate emergency vehicles parked in the base – a couple of military trucks that they could use to transport all the remaining survivors. It then took a few days to clear the roads for the massive vehicles to pass, and it didn’t make it easy that the trucks consumed so much fuel. 

_Eventually,_ they made it back, and they were greeted with joyous cheers and smiles. 

He tried to find C.C. to check on Lelouch, but she was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the scientists had taken upon themselves to join a recon mission to pick up some more supplies for their research, and they were all out of the base, not due back until a few more hours. 

Sighing, Suzaku returned to his room, shoulders slumped as he plopped on the corner of his bed. 

He unpacked his stuff and returned them to their rightful spots in his small wardrobe and threw the backpack on the top shelf when he was done. 

There was a soft knock on the door. 

“Coming!” Suzaku called out, assuming it was probably Ohgi requesting a report of the mission. 

He pulled the door open, already starting to explain, “I should be able to give you my report in…” he trailed off when his confused gaze met determined violet eyes. 

Lelouch bit his lip, “Hey Suzaku.” 

“Lelouch? What are you doing here?” Suzaku popped his head out into the corridor, wondering if C.C. was nearby, but it was empty. 

“Can I come in?” 

Suzaku blinked, stopping for a moment before realising the raven had asked a question. “Yes… of course.” He stepped aside, gesturing to his bed and shutting the door when Lelouch walked further into the room. 

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Lelouch smiled softly. 

“I promised you I would live… so here I am!” the brunet grinned. 

“Yeah, you did…” Violet eyes wandered away from his gaze, focusing on the floor instead. “You heard about Nunnally, haven’t you?” 

“Yeah,” Suzaku spoke quietly, “I’m sorry for your loss.” 

“It’s your loss as much as it is mine,” the former prince patted the spot beside him, and Suzaku followed his unspoken command, “She was important to you too.” 

He dropped his head, “I can’t believe she’s gone-“ his voice cracked, and he could feel his eyes watering. 

“The way I dealt with her loss is not something I’m proud of. Honestly, if it weren’t for C.C. I’d probably be dead by now, wandering mindlessly,” Lelouch sighed, “Or without you, I’d be in Gino’s clutches, and I’d never see the light again. So… I want to thank you.” 

“Lelouch-“ 

“Let me do this, okay?” Lelouch let out a heavy sigh, turning to his side so he faced his friend. “I regret what happened deeply. I clearly overreacted when I heard about Nunnally and in turn, I pushed you away. A lot of this could have easily been avoided if I didn’t react so harshly, and I’m sorry. I’m _so_ sorry.” Violet eyes flashed with remorse and guilt, and Suzaku wished he could just take it all away, but the unfortunate nature of reality would never allow him to. “You didn’t have to come after me, yet you did anyway. I didn’t deserve to be saved, Suzaku, but you-“ 

Lelouch shut his eyes, letting out a tight smile, “You’re such an idiot.” 

“You know I’d do anything for you, Lelouch. _I love you_.” 

The raven gazed at him with wide eyes, as if it was the farthest thing he expected him to say, “Even after all this time?” It was practically a whisper, and Suzaku barely heard it himself despite being right next to him. 

“Of course,” Suzaku replied without hesitation, “Forever. _Always_. That’s what I promised you back then, right?” He beamed, “And you know I always keep my promises.” 

Lelouch leaned forward, pressing his lips against Suzaku, breathing heavily, “God I missed you.” 

The brunet’s lips quirked up into a smile, “I missed you too.” 


	19. RULE #18: NEVER LOSE HOPE

_Three months later_

“I need a volunteer!” 

Lloyd Asplund stormed in the common room, white lab gown flowing freely behind him as he made the exuberant announcement. 

Most of the survivors ignored the crazed scientist, turning back to their lunch. Many passed him without a word, instead focusing on their conversations. 

“Aw, come on,” the lavender-haired male whined, tugging on random survivors, but they only sent a scowl his way before turning back around. 

Violet eyes trained on the remnants of his lunch, which he poked and prodded with his fork. The single cherry tomato rolled around his plate and he narrowed his eyes at the stubborn fruit. 

Suzaku sat across him, gulfing down his rice bowl quickly. He finished with a huge smile on his face as he set the bowl down on the table. He blinked, only now discovering Lloyd’s presence in the common area. 

“What’s he doing here?” Suzaku wondered aloud. “I’m shocked he’s actually out of the lab for once.” 

The eccentric (former) earl was never usually seen out of the lab, save for the times he’s had to go replenish his pudding stock. His presence in the rest of the base was both distinctly terrifying and unnerving. 

“I just need one volunteer!” Lloyd pouted, approaching their table with slumped shoulders. 

“Volunteer?” the brunet grinned, ready to stand. 

Lelouch shot him a look, placing his hands firmly on his shoulders and using all his strength to keep him seated. “Absolutely _not_.” 

“But why?” 

“The last time he needed volunteers, he wanted to test run their first round of vaccines and get you to walk past the zombies. Do you remember what happened after that, Suzaku?” 

The Japanese male scrunched his eyebrows together, “Uh… no?” 

“Let’s just say the zombie population definitely increased by two that day.” Boy did the research team get an earful from Ohgi. 

Suzaku frowned, “But I just want to help!” 

Lloyd, as if built with supersonic hearing, rushed to Suzaku’s side, suddenly conjuring himself up next to him, “What’s this I hear? A volunteer?” He smiled wide, with eyes eager for a response. 

“You’re hearing things, Asplund,” Lelouch brushed him off. 

The scientist frowned, “You’d be my volunteer, wouldn’t you, Suzaku?” 

“Of course…“ Green eyes locked onto deep violets, and he gulped. “Not.” He chuckled nervously, hoping Lelouch’s glare would go away. 

“You heard him,” Lelouch raised an eyebrow. 

“This is not fair, you’re controlling your boyfriend,” Lloyd mumbled. 

**“** I am simply looking out for him because he has no regard for his personal safety,” the prince sighed. “If you told him to run through zombies, he probably would. He’s any scientists’ wet dream,” he popped the tomato in his mouth, giving up on the fork. 

“Hey!” Suzaku protested, folding his arms over his chest. “I’d make sure I have a weapon first.” 

Violet eyes sent him a knowing look as he chewed. “My point exactly!” 

Lloyd’s eyes _sparkled_. “If, _theoretically_ , I wanted to test out a certain experiment involving running through zombies, would you be interested?” 

Before Suzaku could open his mouth to respond, Lelouch cleared his throat. “What’s this experiment of yours this time? Why do you need volunteers?” 

“I’d like to have you know it isn’t even science related this time,” Lloyd huffed, disappointed, “Our newest recruit has been working with us in the lab. It seems she’s concocted new dishes for us to try and we just want volunteers to test her cooking.” 

Suzaku raised an eyebrow, “Count me in!” 

Lelouch sighed, piling their dishes on top of each other and standing up. “Well, let’s go then.” 

“Oh, I also forgot,” Lloyd cleared his throat, speaking a little bit louder, “On behalf of the medical research team, I am happy to announce that we have successfully formulated a vaccine for the zombie virus.” 

The audience, who was _suddenly_ listening to Lloyd Asplund, erupted in cheers, standing in their seats and hugging each other like there’s no tomorrow. 

Lelouch’s eye twitched, “You really should have started with that.” 

The taller Britannian shrugged, “It slipped my mind.” 

“It slipped… _your mind_ ,” Lelouch sighed. “Of course it did. Have you told Ohgi?” 

He nodded once, “Rakshata and C.C. should be with him now.” 

“Things are finally looking up!” Suzaku grinned, “I knew you guys could do it!” 

“Why of course,” Lloyd smiled smugly, “It was only a matter of _when_.” 

  



	20. EPILOGUE: THE WORLD MOVES FORWARD

_One year later_

“Are you ready?” 

Suzaku poked his head through the gap in the wide French doors with a curious look, smiling when he caught sight of the raven. 

For the umpteenth time that morning, Lelouch gazed at his reflection on the full-length mirror, adjusting his white hat. 

He felt broad warm hands over his shoulder, and Suzaku gave him a reassuring smile. “You look good.” 

“I feel… odd,” Lelouch mumbled quietly, giving himself another onceover, staring at the white emperor’s robes he adorned. The regal outfit was specifically tailored for him, fitting him perfectly. He first assumed the clothes possibly bothered him, but that wasn’t it. 

  
It might have been due to being in the Imperial Palace – a place he never dreamed he’d stepped foot into again. The last he’d seen it was when he renounced his rights to the imperial throne, and he couldn’t quite say he missed the ridiculously lavish palace. 

It did give him some comfort visiting Aries Villa, recalling fond memories of his time there with Nunnally. Upon his request, they had restored the villa to its glory, and it was now his home with Suzaku. 

The door opened wide, revealing the small lanky frame of a young boy with light brown hair and lilac eyes. “Big brother!” He laughed as he approached the raven, hugging him tightly. “They’re all looking for you. It appears everything is set.” 

“Thanks Rolo,” Lelouch smiled, ruffling his hair. 

Ever since rescuing the boy they had found knocking on death’s door, he had grown attached and somehow viewed him as family. At one point, Rolo had just started calling him ‘big brother’ like Nunnally used to. Lelouch hasn’t corrected him, nor did he have any intention to, growing used to the warm feeling he received from the young Britannian’s presence. 

“Let’s not keep them waiting. Any later and Kallen will kill us for sure,” Suzaku gently pushed him out of the door. 

“Fine, fine!” Lelouch chuckled. “I’m going. See?” 

“Good,” the brunet smiled. “I can’t have that bad of a reputation as your knight _already_. It’s like my first day on the job!” 

They stood behind thick regal curtains, waiting for their cue as practised. 

“Presenting his imperial majesty!” A man announced jubilantly in the middle of the throne room, “Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia, 1st Emperor of the New World.” 

Suzaku squeezed his hand once, nodding once before escorting Lelouch to the grandeur throne as the crowd consisting of Britannians and Japanese alike, erupted into applause. 

“Of course, before anything else, I’d like to introduce my chosen knight, Sir Suzaku Kururugi,” he gestured at the brunet standing next to him, who bowed to the audience. 

“I am grateful for all your support and I assure you I will not take this position in vain. This New World is the product of many people’s joint efforts and everyone’s contributions to revert the world to the way it was. I am pleased to appoint Kaname Ohgi as this New World’s Prime Minister, Kallen Kozuki as the Head of the Black Knights, and Rakshata Chawla as the Head of Engineering, in charge of operations to restore infrastructures. This is my first few steps of many to rebuilding our world and making it a gentler place.” 

It has been years since the vaccine has successfully been created and replicated by the medical research team. They promptly prepared mass amounts of the product, distributing it to the survivors at the base first, before heading out and finding more who could still be out there. It wasn’t much, but it was certainly a start. 

Appointing Lelouch as emperor stems from the need for Britannian representation, as Ohgi was sure deep in their hearts that the rooted nature of the world pre-apocalypse was not something that could just be let go of simply. 

In effect, Lelouch did end up being the brains behind most of the operations in the rebuilding project, and Ohgi helped execute them. They were practising a balance of power through representation and harmony, hoping it would stay that way despite a change in hands. 

Their next step was to operate in other countries – try to locate other foreign survivors and distributing more of the vaccine. Lloyd and Cecile were working on some next generation knightmare frames that had the ability to fly, so the project might come sooner than later. They had asked Suzaku to be their ‘devicer’ of some sort – essentially their guinea pig for the new knightmare frames, and of course, Suzaku was _ecstatic_ , eager to participate in the project (Yes, Lelouch tried to talk him out of it because the thought of Suzaku flying a virtually unstable knightmare that _flies_ terrifies him, and _no_ , he didn’t succeed, much to the raven’s dismay). 

Meanwhile, C.C. was busy ensuring the prevention of contamination in food and other surfaces. They did have the vaccine now, but they couldn’t be too careful as the virus might mutate into a more complex strain. There is a lot of work ahead of her but finding that Costco a couple of months back and replenishing her stock seemed to lift her spirits up well, and she is hard at work like many others. 

The world they have always known was changing, and it was changing _fast_. 

In the end, this game of survival had brought out the worst in people, but also the best, revealing humanity’s purest intentions through selfless good deeds and dedicated cooperation. It has been heart-warming to watch people grow and change into better versions of themselves, paving the way to the light as examples for many others. 

They have fought back, and despite the hardships, despite all that they have lost, they have found a way to live. 

They have _won_. 


End file.
